Driver arrested after fleeing officer and crashing vehicle in Winton, CHP says

A San Jose man suffered major injuries and was placed under arrested after attempting to flee officers in the Winton area, the California Highway Patrol reported.

California Highway Patrol Officer Eric Zuniga said suspect Fancisco Antonio Cruz, 20, was driving a 2012 Jeep Cherokee in the area of North Winton Way and Myrtle Avenue at about 6:20 p.m. Tuesday.

An officer had pulled Cruz over because the vehicle he was driving had tinted windows and no front license plate.

While speaking with the driver, the officer observed indicators of marijuana use and asked for Cruz’s license and insurance. Cruz didn’t provide the documents and then fled the scene in the vehicle, CHP said.

The officer then called in a Be On the Lookout alert for the suspect and vehicle.

About 15 minutes later, another officer located the suspect vehicle after it had rolled over in the area of Meadow Drive and West Lane, Zuniga said.

Authorities determined the suspect was traveling westbound on Meadows Drive, west of West Lane, when for unknown reasons he lost control and went off the shoulder. The suspect vehicle struck a telephone pole, causing it to overturn multiple times and come to rest in an orchard.

Cruz was ejected from the vehicle during the crash and was flown Memorial Medical Center in Modesto with major injuries, Zuniga said.

Cruz was later arrested on suspicion of resisting arrest, as well as for two outstanding burglary warrants out of South San Francisco and San Ramon, according to the CHP.

Neither drugs nor alcohol appear to be a factor in the collision which is under investigation, authorities said.