Sunday driver sparks car fire

A drunk driver led sheriff's deputies on a chase through Bonita on Sunday afternoon, February 22, stopping only when her car caught fire as a result of damages incurred during an attempt to flee.

According to a report from Sgt. Roberto Lopez, authorities attempted to conduct a routine traffic stop for an unspecified equipment violation on a gold Cadillac shortly after 3 p.m. The driver refused to pull over, "fleeing at a high rate of speed" down Bonita Road, a thoroughfare flanked by a golf course to the north and shopping centers to the south.

The driver crashed into a median but continued to evade police for a while despite the blowout of a rear tire. The vehicle eventually came to a stop less than a mile down the road.

The driver, however, kept her foot on the gas pedal, causing sparks from the spinning rim to set the tire's remnants ablaze. Deputies were able to extract the driver from the flaming vehicle, at which point she was examined and arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol. The Bonita Fire Department was called in to douse the burning Cadillac.