Atwater car chase reaches 100 mph

ATWATER -- No one was injured during a nine-minute, high-speed pursuit early Monday on Highway 99.

An Atwater police officer initiated a traffic stop on southbound Highway 99 at Bell Road after a 2006 Buick LeSabre failed to stop at Sycamore Avenue and Applegate Road, according to the Atwater Police Department.

As the officer approached the vehicle, the driver sped onto southbound Highway 99, reaching more than 100 mph, police said. The vehicle exited the freeway on Buhach Road and continued onto Ashby Road, taking side streets in the Franklin- Beachwood area.

The driver evaded law enforcement units after he drove through a field at the dead end of Drake Avenue before turning back onto Ashby, police said.

The vehicle was later found abandoned on Ashby, just west of Miles Court in Merced.

A female passenger, Carrie Schindler, 34, was detained by authorities. Police identified the driver as Donald Ray Tucker, 28, a wanted felon.

The Merced County Sheriff's Department, a K-9 team, and the Merced Police Department assisted in checking the area after the pursuit but were unable to locate Tucker.

-- Sun-Star staff