Vehicle chase ends with crash in Merced County

A 41-year-old Planada man was arrested early Friday on suspicion of leading authorities on a vehicle chase that ended when the driver crashed in an orchard, the Merced County Sheriff’s Department reported.

Samuel Canal Jr. was in possession of a large amount of copper wire and multiple stolen irrigation pumps, according to authorities. An exact value of the copper wire was not available, but deputies said it was worth “several thousand dollars.”

Deputies responded just before 4 a.m. to a report of man possibly stealing copper wire from a fish farm on Sandy Mush Road. Investigators spotted a 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee in the area, but the driver didn’t stop. Deputies chased the vehicle for several miles, through the communities of Le Grand and Planada, before the Jeep overturned in an orchard south of Mariposa Way.

Canal Jr. was booked into the Merced County jail on suspicion of evading law enforcement, resisting arrest and violating his probation.

This story was originally published October 16, 2015 at 5:40 PM with the headline "Vehicle chase ends with crash in Merced County."