CHP: Mustang driver, 17, flees CHP at 100 mph, causes Santa Rosa crash

A 17-year-old Santa Rosa driver was in custody after speeding more than 100 mph up Highway 101 through Santa Rosa in a Ford Mustang and then colliding with another driver stopped in a Ford Focus at a College Avenue intersection, the CHP said.

The impact of the Mustang crashing into the Focus rolled the car and caused serious injuries to driver Andrew Giganti, 23, of Santa Rosa, CHP Officer David deRutte said Tuesday.

The teen wasn’t hurt and ran from his car on Friday night. He was caught nearby by officers who arrested him on suspicion of felony evading and felony hit-and-run causing injuries. The unidentified teen was booked into Sonoma County’s juvenile detention center.

The pursuit started Friday just after 10 p.m. on Santa Rosa Avenue when an officer saw the teen driver make a traffic violation and tried to pull him over.

Instead, the teen drove onto the freeway heading north and quickly outpaced the officer’s patrol SUV, deRutte said.

Because of the Mustang’s distinctive taillights, the officer kept the vehicle in sight and saw the driver take the College Avenue exit.

As the officer took the exit, he could see the wreck’s aftermath. Giganti had been stopped at a red light in his Focus, heading west on College Avenue when the Mustang sped down the offramp. The driver was going too fast to make the turn and ran into the driver’s side of the Focus.

The Focus driver had serious injuries, including a leg injury, and was taken to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital. The Mustang had major front-end damage and the Focus was totaled.

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