Woman steals pickup, then crashes it, Modesto police say. The truck’s owner nabbed her

The owner of a pickup truck followed the woman suspected of stealing his vehicle Wednesday morning and detained her after she crashed into a tree in west Modesto, police said.

About 6 a.m., Modesto police officers were called the area of Merced Avenue and Tuolumne Boulevard, where they found the stolen black pickup crashed into the tree, according to Sharon Bear, a police spokeswoman.

She said the pickup’s owner had followed his vehicle, which had been stolen from the 2000 block of Saint Sebastian Way. The owner followed the pickup for about 3 miles before it crashed. Bear said no other vehicle was involved in the crash.

Natalie Valderrama is suspected of stealing the pickup. Bear said the pickup’s owner held Valderrama at the scene until officers arrived.

Valderrama was arrested on suspicion of vehicle theft, and she remained in custody at the Stanislaus County Jail on Wednesday afternoon.

It’s unclear whether the pickup’s owner knew the suspect or spotted the vehicle theft in progress and chased down the suspect.

Thanks for your strong interest in local journalism. We rely on readers like you more than ever before, and we currently offer free access to five stories a month. We hope you see value in supporting us further with a digital subscription to help ensure we can provide strong local journalism for many years to come.

This story was originally published August 1, 2018 at 4:16 PM.