A Fairfield, CA wild chase on Thursday afternoon stopped after a stolen car crashed and its driver was nabbed — all thanks to a high-tech hit. The Fairfield Police Department reported that on December 29, at approximately 2:00 pm, a FLOCK automated license plate recognition system alerted them to a vehicle reported stolen out of Napa, located near North Texas Street/Airbase Parkway.
The officers spotted the stolen ride near the 300 block of East Tabor Avenue and gave chase when the driver, identified as 32-year-old Samuel Vodden, made a run for it. The pursuit ended when the suspect's vehicle collided with another at East Travis/Rayburn Court — the driver and a passenger then made a break for it on foot. While the passenger was quickly collared, Vodden was more elusive, climbing fences and moving eastbound before cops clamped down with a perimeter and flushed him from a backyard on the 500 block of Arkansas Street.
"The other driver involved in the traffic collision suffered a knee injury," the Fairfield Police Department detailed in their statement; their condition following the accident was not specified beyond that. The statement was provided via the department's Facebook page.
After a hospital once-over, Vodden faced the music — booked into the County Jail on the theft and a parade of other related charges. As Fairfield fete-ers gear up to ring in the new year, the police's parting words served as a somber reminder, "As you begin your New Year’s festivities this weekend, please make smart choices. Drinking and driving won’t make for a good start to 2024!"
