Carjacking suspect leads police on wild high-speed chase in Merced County

A carjacking suspect in Winton led law enforcement on a high-speed chase Tuesday morning on Highway 99 before crashing outside a fast-food restaurant.

The driver, Andrew J. Ramirez, 23, of Fresno, was bloodied during the crash, his injuries were not life-threatening, according to the Merced County Sheriff’s Office.

A woman was carjacked just before 11 a.m. Tuesday in the 6000 block of Winton Way. The suspect made off with her blue 1998 Ford Expedition.

Sheriff’s Detective Chris Sziraki was heading north on Highway 99 when he spotted the Expedition at 11:22 a.m. driving north near Hammatt Avenue in Merced County, Lt. Jeff Coburn said.

Sziraki was in an unmarked sheriff’s vehicle, Coburn said, so he followed the stolen Expedition. California Highway Patrol officers waited in the area of Highway 99 near Shanks Road in Delhi.

Once the Expedition passed the CHP officers, they followed and attempted to stop the vehicle near Golden State Boulevard, Coburn said.

The driver sped away, swerving all over the roads at speeds of more than of 100 mph.

“He started going into the center median at different points,” Coburn said.

The driver took the Lander Avenue off-ramp, just south of Turlock, and merged back onto Highway 99 heading south, eventually leading law enforcement back to Livingston, Coburn said.

The driver took the Winton Parkway exit at 11:37 a.m. and crashed into a tree and fence near the northeastern end of a McDonald’s parking lot.

Coburn said the driver got out of the vehicle, pushed his way through a wire fence, went through some bushes and ran into the parking lot to the east side of a Chevron gas station before sheriff’s deputies and CHP officials surrounded him at gunpoint.

Coburn said the man was arrested without a struggle and transported by ambulance to a Modesto area hospital.

Authorities believe the man is part of an area street gang based on his tattoos, Coburn said.

The Sheriff’s Office is handling the carjacking and pursuit investigation. CHP is handling the crash investigation.

He was arrested on suspicion of carjacking and failing to yield to police.

This story was originally published May 16, 2017 at 4:43 PM with the headline "Carjacking suspect leads police on wild high-speed chase in Merced County."