2 Arrested After Santa Maria High Speed Chase

Police flying over a high speed chase between Guadalupe and Santa Maria helped officers on the ground find a SUV that eluded officers for more than a half hour Thursday afternoon.

The pursuit started when the driver of a Chevy Tahoe wouldn’t pull over for a traffic stop in Guadalupe.

The chase went into Santa Maria, with speeds reportedly reaching up to 100 mph. A number of viewers posted eyewitness accounts of the pursuit on the KCOY 12 Facebook page, with stories of near misses on the streets of Santa Maria. No one was hurt during the chase.

California Highway Patrol officers had taken up the pursuit as it left Guadalupe, but decided to end the chase for safety reasons. After law enforcement on the ground pulled back, officers flying overhead saw the SUV pull over near Knudsen Way and Western Avenue.

Police on the ground were then able to quickly converge at that location and arrest the female driver. A man riding in the vehicle took off running, but officers were able to detain him.

The chase lasted more than a half hour, starting in Guadalupe around 1:40 p.m. and ending in Santa Maria just after 2:15 p.m.

Santa Maria High School was put on lockdown for fifteen minutes during the pursuit because it passed right by the campus.

Slideshow: High Speed Pursuit Through Santa Maria