A Placerville police pursuit that began after a man allegedly struck an officer with his truck ended in a rollover crash in South Lake Tahoe on Friday, with the driver reaching speeds above 100 mph on two flattened tires before losing control. Scot Hiltabrand II was arrested at the scene and booked into El Dorado County Jail on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer, reckless evading, and resisting an officer.
Officer Struck During Attempted Stop
Placerville police tried to stop Hiltabrand on Friday while investigating allegations that he had been stalking a woman, according to the California Highway Patrol as reported by CBS Sacramento. During that encounter, CHP said, Hiltabrand struck a uniformed Placerville police officer with his Toyota Tacoma, an allegation that touched off the pursuit. Placerville police began chasing the truck as Hiltabrand sped east on Highway 50, per the same account.
The California Highway Patrol took over the pursuit near Fresh Pond, and El Dorado County Sheriff's deputies deployed spike strips at two separate locations as the chase continued toward Lake Tahoe. Even after the spikes left him with two flat tires, Hiltabrand kept driving, with CHP saying the pursuit reached speeds above 100 mph despite the damaged tires.
Truck Flips in South Lake Tahoe
Hiltabrand eventually lost control of the truck in South Lake Tahoe, and the vehicle rolled onto its roof, CHP said. Officers arrested him at the crash scene, with an El Dorado County Sheriff's K9 deputy assisting in taking him into custody. He was booked into El Dorado County Jail on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer, reckless evading, and resisting an officer. Placerville police are expected to refer the case to the El Dorado County District Attorney's Office for prosecution, the station's report notes.
A Familiar Stretch of Highway 50
High-speed pursuits along the Highway 50 corridor into the Tahoe Basin are not unusual. In March, a chase that began with a Rancho Cordova traffic stop around 4 a.m. at Folsom Boulevard and Florin Perkins Road stretched more than 80 miles, according to The Sacramento Bee. The California Highway Patrol took over once the driver crossed into El Dorado County, and the pursuit ended on Highway 50 near South Upper Truckee Road west of Meyers, where the driver was taken into custody around 8:45 a.m.; a portion of the highway was closed during the response before the closure was later lifted.
Other pursuits in the area have ended just as abruptly. A chase that began when a black 2015 Mercedes sedan passed a CHP officer on Highway 50 west of Echo Summit at around 5:25 a.m. one August 4th ended when the car turned onto State Route 89, and officers later found it crashed against a boulder, according to FOX40. Three people were arrested, and the driver faced charges including felony evading, felony hit-and-run causing injuries, reckless driving causing injury, and resisting arrest.
In an earlier incident, a pursuit of a suspected stolen Mazda CX-9 crossed from California into Nevada and back before officers stopped it with a PIT maneuver, per South Tahoe Now. During that chase, a South Lake Tahoe police vehicle collided with another vehicle on US 50, and both drivers were taken to the hospital; the pursuit's driver was later arrested and booked into El Dorado County Jail.
Statewide figures underscore how often these chases turn dangerous. A California Highway Patrol legislative report found that 2,275 pursuits, or 19.0 percent of those reviewed, resulted in a crash, with 1,345 people injured across 798 injury crashes, according to the agency's report to the Legislature.
