Modesto police: Man who rammed car into vehicles suffered medical emergency

A man suffering a medical emergency reportedly rammed his vehicle into three others after a citizen pursuit that ended in a shopping center parking lot on Modesto’s McHenry Avenue on Tuesday night.

Nobody suffered any apparent injuries, although the victims were still trying to gather themselves and police were attempting to piece together what exactly unfolded.

“It’s hard to describe,” said Robinson Araujo, who eventually tackled the man and subdued him before police arrived. “It’s crazy.”

The driver of the vehicle that witnesses say did all the damage was taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital. Blood was drawn to ensure he was not under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and doctors confirmed the 55-year-old man suffered a medical emergency, Modesto Police Department spokeswoman Heather Graves said Wednesday morning.

Because he has not been arrested, the driver’s name was not available. What charges he faces – if any – are still to be determined, according to Sgt. Derrick Tyler of the Modesto Police Department.

“Usually when something like this happens, there’s not an arrest right away,” Graves said. Whether or not there will be charges will depend on the outcome of the investigation, she said; the case will be sent to the District Attorney’s Office for review.

The incident began about 7:30 p.m. near Sunrise and Tokay avenues, where Rachel Arzaga said she saw the driver of a tan Mercedes Benz driving erratically, nearly hitting her Toyota Camry and a house. She said she honked her horn at the man, and he got out of his car and apologized. She said his speech seemed impaired, and she thought he might be intoxicated.

He went back toward his car and began pacing, Arzaga said. She called police, and a few minutes later, the man got back into his vehicle. He began driving again, this time south on Sunrise before turning west onto Tokay toward McHenry, she said.

Arzaga, whose daughter and grandson were in the vehicle, said she followed a safe distance behind. He eventually got on McHenry Avenue, where she said he turned north and stopped. She said he noticed her following him, and he began spinning his tires in reverse. She said at that point, she went into the parking lot of the Northland Shopping Center, where she said he followed her and rammed her vehicle, spinning it around a couple of times.

Tyler said at some point, the Mercedes Benz hit another vehicle in the parking lot before trying to exit the center onto Tokay. That’s where witnesses say he rammed into a BMW driven by Robinson Araujo, who was on his way into the center to get dinner at McDonald’s.

“I saw all this commotion, this guy chasing this lady, so I stopped,” he said. “I didn’t move because I didn’t want to be part of it. He’s doing doughnuts. He’s going fast, he’s going crazy. All of a sudden, he turns his car toward me, he looks at me and presses the gas and goes straight at me.”

Araujo said the man rammed his BMW, then drove toward McHenry. Moments later, he said, he saw the man going in reverse toward his car again before hitting it a second time.

He said the man got out of his car “like nothing happened.” Araujo then got him down and others who were watching in disbelief helped subdue him.

This story was originally published June 23, 2015 at 10:38 PM with the headline "Modesto police: Man who rammed car into vehicles suffered medical emergency."