A driver crashed into a parked car in a quiet La Mesa neighborhood, flipped his own vehicle upside down, and then apparently decided sticking around was not part of the plan.
The impact around 9:45 p.m. Sunday woke Michael Garrett, who told CBS 8 he looked through his front window and saw an overturned car outside his home.
Garrett’s Nest camera captured what happened next. Still in his pajamas, he ran outside, called 911, and approached the wreck to check on the driver.
Then Garrett walked behind the overturned vehicle to get its license plate. By the time he came back around, the driver was gone.
Now He’s Running
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Garrett and his girlfriend spotted the driver leaving on foot and gave chase.
The surveillance footage shows the couple running from the house as Garrett remains on the phone with the police. During the chase, he relayed their location while they followed the driver toward 70th Street.
“We got you, bro,” someone shouts as they run.
Garrett told CBS 8 they followed the driver to the end of the street, where he finally stopped running.
La Mesa police arrived shortly afterward and arrested him.
From Bed To Chase
What began as Garrett trying to determine whether someone needed help had turned into a foot chase within minutes.
“I’m dead asleep and suddenly we just hear loud crash outside,” Garrett told the station.
His first reaction was to head toward the overturned car. It was only after circling behind the vehicle for its plate that he realized the person who had been inside had disappeared.
Garrett said he remained on the phone with police throughout the pursuit, allowing officers to meet the couple farther down the street.
Neither Garrett nor his girlfriend was hurt.
A tow truck removed the overturned vehicle roughly an hour after the crash. CBS 8’s footage the following day showed damage to Garrett’s parked car and marks around the area where the vehicles collided.
Waiting On Paperwork
Garrett said he had spoken with La Mesa police after the incident but was still waiting for additional information about the arrested driver.
He told CBS 8 he did not yet know the driver’s name, whether the person had insurance or why he had left the overturned vehicle.
Garrett had also contacted his insurance company about what to do with his damaged car.
That wait for documentation is not necessarily unusual immediately after a collision. The City of La Mesa says traffic collision reports may take officers up to 30 days to complete before a requested copy becomes available.
For Garrett, the paperwork came after a much faster sequence: waking to a crash, finding an upside-down car outside his home and then running down the street in his pajamas while telling police where its driver had gone.