Police Chase Stolen Big Rig for 90 Minutes, Hold Driver

ANAHEIM —  A Santa Ana man driving a stolen big rig truck loaded with health food supplies led police from at least five agencies on a 90-minute chase through Orange County on Saturday before he surrendered without incident, authorities said.

Thomas Lee Gray, 35, was arrested at 4:58 p.m. after he pulled the 18-wheeler over on West La Palma Avenue near Euclid Street and gave himself up, California Highway Patrol Officer Angel Johnson said. Gray was booked into the Orange County Jail on suspicion of vehicle theft, hit and run and evading arrest. Bail was set at $10,000.

The spokeswoman said Gray managed to impress some of the officers trailing him with his driving skills, even though he ran over a curb at the beginning of the chase and flattened two of the truck’s rear tires. “They said he was a pretty good big rig driver,” she said.

The man later told officers he gave himself up because he did not want to be hurt, she said. The truck apparently was carrying a full load of diesel fuel and could have continued running for quite a while longer before running out of fuel, she said.

Johnson said the truck, a 1992 Peterbilt owned by Victory Express of Medway, Ohio, was reported stolen from a truck stop in Ontario about 10 p.m. Friday. It was loaded with vitamins and other health food supplies valued at $500,000, she said.

The truck was equipped with a locater system, which allowed police to find it, abandoned, at 6th and Mabury streets in Santa Ana early Saturday. CHP officers conducting surveillance on the truck saw Gray, along with a woman and small child, approach it about 2:45 p.m., climb in and drive away, Johnson said.

The officers then tried to stop Gray in a supermarket parking lot at 17th Street and Grand Avenue in Santa Ana about 3:15 p.m. Gray let the passengers out and fled, driving the vehicle over a curb and flattening two rear tires in the process, Johnson said.

Despite the duration of the pursuit and the many miles covered, there were no injuries reported. Gray struck two parked cars during the chase but neither vehicle was occupied, Johnson said.

The chase, which rarely exceeded posted speed limits, spilled at times onto three freeways--the Costa Mesa, Santa Ana and Riverside--and numerous surface streets in Anaheim, Cypress and Santa Ana. Police from all three cities, as well as Westminster, were involved at various points, Johnson said.

Investigators did not know whether Gray had stolen the vehicle from the truck stop, she said.