Petaluma police arrest man who rammed officer’s vehicle after 100-mph chase

Police arrested a San Rafael man Sunday after a 100-mph chase that began in Marin County and ended when the man crashed into an officer’s vehicle in Petaluma, authorities said.

The chase began at about 8:20 p.m., when a Marin County Sheriff’s deputy spotted a gray Nissan Pathfinder stopped on Lucas Valley Road near San Rafael.

“The vehicle came to an abrupt stop and the deputy observed the passenger door fly open,” said Sgt. Brenton Schneider, a Marin County Sheriff’s Office spokesman.

A woman “who appeared in distress” got out of the car and started walking away, Schneider said.

The deputy tried to stop the man driving the Nissan but he sped off. He drove north on Highway 101 at over 100 mph, according to CHP Officer Andrew Barclay.

Petaluma Police took over the chase when the man got off the highway at the East Washington Street exit.

The man drove down Bantam Way, a dead-end street on the western edge of the city. When he reached the end, he “turned around and had nowhere to go, so he rammed a Petaluma officer who was inside his vehicle,” said Petaluma Police Lt. Nick McGowan.

McGowan said the man rammed the officer’s vehicle twice. The vehicle, a Ford Explorer, was damaged, but no one was injured.

The man then stayed inside the Nissan with the doors locked as police ordered him to get out. After “a short standoff,” the man surrendered and was arrested at gunpoint, McGowan said.

William Rodas-Diaz, 30, was booked into the Sonoma County Jail on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and evading police.

Marin County deputies searched for the woman who got out of the Nissan on Lucas Valley Road but couldn’t find her, according to Schneider.

It was the second time on Sunday that a police chase ended with a crash in Petaluma.

In an earlier incident, a man suspected of stealing a car rammed two Petaluma police vehicles after officers tried to box him in and prevent him from driving away. Nobody was injured, but the two vehicles were damaged, police said.

Police were working to identify the man on Monday, according to McGowan.

You can reach Staff Writer Matt Pera at matthew.pera@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @Matt__Pera.