Police: 85 mph chase through Santa Rosa ends after car catches fire on Highway 101

A 26-year-old man was arrested Tuesday morning after he led Santa Rosa police on an 85 mph chase that ended when his car caught fire on Highway 101, police said.

An officer tried to stop the man for speeding in the area of West Third Street and Dutton Avenue shortly before 3 a.m., but he drove off, said Lt. Kyle Philp.

The man drove onto eastbound Highway 12 and then turned around and headed west. He got onto southbound Highway 101 and pulled over near the exit for Highway 116 in Cotati when his car’s engine caught fire, according to Philp.

Firefighters put out the blaze and nobody was injured. Philp described the car as an Infiniti from the early 2000s. He said the reason the fire started was unknown and the man did not answer questions from police.

The man, Skyler Rasmussen of Petaluma, was wanted on warrants in Sonoma County for violating probation and parole. In addition to those charges, he was arrested on suspicion of evading police.

The sole passenger in the car, 32-year-old Brittany Hamilton of Santa Rosa, was wanted on seven warrants for misdemeanor charges in Sonoma County.

Both Rasmussen and Hamilton were booked into the Sonoma County Jail.

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