A black Mercedes-Benz GL-Class ended up disabled on Highway 17 Saturday with heavy front-end damage and a shredded front tire after police say it was involved in multiple collisions and led officers on a high-speed pursuit.
Six people were taken into custody after the chase ended near Highway 17 in Santa Cruz, just north of Ocean Street, according to KSBW.
Santa Cruz Police Department spokesperson Katie Lee told the Santa Cruz Sentinel that the vehicle was involved in multiple collisions before failing to stop for officers. Police pursued the SUV down Mission Street before the chase ended near Highway 17.
The Sentinel photographed the Mercedes after the pursuit. The SUV is a second-generation Mercedes-Benz GL-Class (X166), and the photo shows substantial damage across the front end and a destroyed front tire with the wheel down on its rim. Officers at the scene told the newspaper that spike strips had been deployed to stop the vehicle.
Police have not released the identities of the six people taken into custody, what charges they may face, or details about the collisions that preceded the pursuit. Lee said the incident remains under investigation, and no additional information was being released.
Was the Mercedes Involved in an Earlier Hit-and-Run?
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An unverified Reddit post from earlier Saturday describes a similar Mercedes involved in another collision in Santa Cruz.
At about 4:10 p.m., the poster reported seeing a black Mercedes SUV without license plates speeding near Frederick Street Park. The person said they were putting their toddler into a car seat when they heard the SUV coming back down the street. According to the post, the Mercedes stopped near a parallel-parked vehicle, struck its open driver’s door, and drove away.
The person later said in the comments that they called police and provided their contact information to the owner of the damaged vehicle in case a witness was needed.
About an hour later, people were discussing the pursuit in a separate Reddit thread. One commenter said they had witnessed the Frederick Street collision and believed the Mercedes was the same SUV later pursued by police.
That thread also included reports from people following police scanner traffic. One person put the pursuit activity involving a black Mercedes at around 5:16 p.m. and said CHP followed the SUV along Highway 1, past Panther Beach, before it eventually headed toward Highway 17. Another described dispatch information about a black Mercedes with tinted windows, no license plates, and front-end damage.
Those scanner details have not been independently confirmed. Santa Cruz police have confirmed that the pursuit vehicle was involved in multiple collisions, but the department has not connected the Frederick Street incident to the Mercedes involved in the chase.
Police Have Not Released the Names of the Six People
Police have not identified the six people taken into custody or announced what charges they may face. Details about the collisions that preceded the pursuit also remain limited.
For now, police have confirmed that the Mercedes was involved in multiple collisions, failed to stop for officers, and led them on a high-speed pursuit down Mission Street before spike strips were deployed and six people were taken into custody.
All parties are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.