Mill Valley man leads CHP on chase, crashes west of Petaluma

A Mill Valley man is facing charges of drunken and reckless driving after a chase Friday afternoon that culminated with his car crashing into a fence and landing in a field near Two Rock.

Paul Walker, 47, led CHP officers on a pursuit that began on Stony Point Road and Wilfred Avenue west of Rohnert Park around 3:10 p.m., and would go on for miles, with speeds reaching about 90 mph, Sgt. Andrew Henkens said.

An officer originally tried to pull Walker over for speeding in the 2016 Chevrolet Malibu that he was driving southbound on Stony Point, Henkens said. Instead of yielding to the lights and siren, Walker turned west on Highway 116 before making a U-turn at Blank Road and heading back the other direction on 116.

The pursuit wended its way down Stony Point to Pepper Road and Bodega Avenue, with other officers joining. At one point, Walker’s vehicle used the right-hand shoulder to pass another motorist, clipping the other vehicle’s side mirror, the CHP said.

Henkens acknowledged the risks need to be weighed against the gains when it comes to whether to continue with such a high-speed pursuit.

Officers “tried to deploy spike strips but it didn’t work,” Henkens said.

The chase, which moved to Valley Ford Road, came to an abrupt end near Walker Road when Walker’s vehicle failed to make a sharp curve to the left and he struck a fence, his vehicle landing in a field right side up.

Walker complained of pain to his back and head and was taken to Petaluma Valley Hospital before being booked into Sonoma County Jail.

You can reach Staff Writer Clark Mason at 707-521-5214 or clark.mason@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter@clarkmas.