Police arrest man after pursuit and crash

SPRING VALLEY (KUSI) – A motorist in an SUV, with two passengers, was arrested following a police pursuit and crash Tuesday.   

A sheriff’s deputy attempted to stop a green Ford Explorer being driven without its headlights on shortly before 3 a.m. on Kempton Street in Spring Valley.   

The driver failed to yield and a short chase ensued, but the deputy gave up after the SUV careened through a wood and metal private property easement barricade on Quarry Road.   

A short time later, a second deputy rolled up to the Explorer as it was parked along Pray Street in nearby Bonita, the driver fled again.

The suspect left behind the wrecked SUV with the two passengers still inside. The passengers were initially detained but later released.   

The driver, 24-year-old Ashton Phillips, was found walking along Quarry Road near Elkelton Place around 5:15 a.m., he was arrested then and there.

He has since been booked into jail on suspicion of evading, vandalism and driving with a suspended license.