One arrested after 100 mph chase in Atwater

A 100 mph pursuit ended Monday in Atwater with one man in custody after he crashed a stolen car into a mailbox near Buhach Road, Atwater police reported.

Sean W. Hogan, 24, of Merced, was booked into the Merced County Jail on suspicion of more than half a dozen allegations, including evading police, vehicle theft and obstructing peace officers. He remained in custody Monday on more than $193,000 bail, according to booking records.

Atwater police spotted a silver Honda Civic just after 2 a.m. at the intersection of Shaffer Road and Broadway Avenue and tried to stop the driver for a traffic violation, Lt. Samuel Joseph said.

The driver, later identified by police as Hogan, accelerated away from the officers and drove through a stop sign at the intersection and continued north on Buhach Road, officers said.

The car turned south onto Ashby Road and continued over the Buhach overpass. It then ran a stop sign at SP Avenue and continued south on Buhach Road, police said.

The driver accelerated to approximately 100 mph and raced into oncoming northbound traffic on Buhach Road, Joseph said.

The car went off the west shoulder near Moran Avenue, lost control in the dirt road and struck a fence and mailbox, police said.

The driver tried to run away but was quickly captured, Joseph said.

A male passenger was trapped in the vehicle and removed by emergency responders. He suffered a head laceration and was taken to an area hospital, police said.

His name was not released.

“He’s not a suspect. The passenger is not being charged,” Joseph said.

An Atwater officer suffered a minor cut to his arm when he used his baton to smash one of the car’s windows while emergency responders were removing the passenger.

The officer is not expected to miss any work as a result of the injury, Joseph said.

This story was originally published May 25, 2015 at 11:26 AM with the headline "One arrested after 100 mph chase in Atwater."