On Christmas morning, while the city of Ceres slept, one Honda Accord driver decided to turn the quiet streets into a race track, leading to a high-speed chase that sparked enough concern for officers to call off the pursuit for safety's sake. In a post from the Ceres Police Department's Facebook page, the details emerged of an early morning incident on December 25, where a white Honda Accord sped through two red lights, catching the eye of Officer Houser on patrol at Hatch Road and Herndon Road.
Describing the chase, the post stated, "Officer Houser activated his emergency lights to initiate a traffic enforcement stop," but the Honda driver had other plans and floored it towards State Route 99. Then, ducking into downtown Modesto, it whipped through red lights—weaving a potentially deadly needle of velocity and risk, before officers elected to put an end to the chase due to escalating danger to the public. The authorities later secured judicial authorization for a vehicle seizure, a move sanctified by California Vehicle Code section 14602.7, which the officers hoped might bring a measure of justice and perhaps deterrence.
That deterrence came in the form of a court-ordered vehicle seizure, a measure that seems to be increasingly looked to in the fight against reckless driving and evasion offenses. Officer Houser, who witnessed the chase, composed the vehicle seizure application that was confirmed by a judge. Just a week later, on New Year's Day, the same Honda Accord was found by the diligent officer. It was promptly impounded for 30 days, an outcome relayed through the department's social channels.
The point of these legal maneuvers is clear—the roads are no place for this kind of blistering indifference to the rules we jointly uphold and which are especially sacred during times of holiday gathering and movement. Utilizing a court order for the 30-day impoundment, Ceres Police Department sends a clear signal to drivers who might contemplate such an evasion, "Under California Vehicle Code section 14602.7, when a peace officer determines that a vehicle was used in the commission of an evading offense under CVC sections 2800.1, 2800.2, or 2800.3, the officer may seek a court order authorizing the seizure and impoundment of the vehicle for up to 30 days," the Facebook post declares, showing the department's unwavering commitment to street safety.
