Late Sunday night in South Sacramento, a brief police pursuit ended with a crash, a small car fire, and one driver headed to jail on hefty bail. Deputies say the man behind the wheel, identified as 33-year-old Ricky Harding, tried to run after the wreck but was quickly taken into custody. No officers were reported injured.
Authorities later confirmed that Harding was booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail.
According to a post from the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office, deputies with the Central Patrol Division first spotted a car committing multiple traffic violations near 15th Avenue and 42nd Street at about 9 p.m. When they tried to pull the driver over, he allegedly took off, heading south on 43rd Street with his headlights off.
Deputies reported that the driver ran a stop sign at 8th Avenue and 43rd Street and slammed into an uninvolved Sacramento Police Department patrol vehicle. The impact pushed the patrol car into a residential fence. A fire then ignited in the suspect's vehicle, which the Sacramento City Fire Department stepped in to extinguish.
How the chase ended
The sheriff's office identified the driver as Harding and said he got out of the damaged vehicle and briefly tried to escape on foot before deputies detained him. The office added, "Booking photo is not available for public release."
After being medically cleared at a local hospital, Harding was booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail with bail set at $500,000. He is scheduled to appear in court on March 10, 2026.
Legal status and next steps
The sheriff's post noted that "California law classifies his offenses as non-violent" and did not list formal charges in the X post. Additional details about any charges and the circumstances that led to the stop are expected to surface at Harding's March 10 court appearance.
