DUI suspect leads deputies on high-speed chase from Santa Rosa to Cotati

A suspected drunken driver was arrested this weekend after leading deputies on a high-speed chase down Highway 101, the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office said Monday.

Michael Isaac, 36, of Santa Rosa, reached speeds of more than 100 mph during Saturday’s pursuit, which started around 4 p.m. near the intersection of Stony Point and Todd roads and ended on southbound 101 in Cotati, the Sheriff’s Office said.

A deputy had tried to pull over Isaac after seeing a 2002 Acura MDX tailgating, speeding and moving erratically in southwest Santa Rosa, Sgt. Spencer Crum said in a news release. When Isaac fled onto Highway 101, deputies boxed in his car to slow it down, Crum said.

The car slowed to a stop on the Cotati grade, but Isaac then drove off the pavement and onto a dirt berm, nearly tipping his car as he passed a deputy, the Sheriff’s Office said. The deputy then slammed his patrol vehicle into the suspect’s car, which caused it to spin before coming to a stop.

Isaac smelled of alcohol and appeared intoxicated, Crum said. Deputies said they found an open bottle of rum on the driver’s floorboard.

Isaac was arrested on suspicion of DUI, felony evading an officer and violating his parole. He also faces a car theft charge after his mother called deputies to say he’d taken her car Saturday morning without permission, the Sheriff’s Office said.

You can reach Staff Writer Randi Rossmann at 707-521-5412 or randi.rossmann@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @rossmannreport.