Two burglary suspects arrested after pursuit, crash in south Modesto

A man and a woman fleeing from sheriff’s deputies in a U-Haul pickup truck crashed into another vehicle in south Modesto on Thursday evening, authorities said.

The U-Haul is believed to have been used in an east Stanislaus County residential burglary earlier in the day. A deputy spotted it at Budget Inn on South Ninth Street just before 5 p.m., said Stanislaus County sheriff’s Sgt. Steve Hatzigeorgiou.

The driver of the U-haul failed to yield when the deputy attempted a traffic stop. He initiated a pursuit that went south to Whitmore Avenue, then headed west.

Due to heavy traffic, the deputy canceled the pursuit at Whitmore and Morgan Road, Hatzigeorgiou said. But a quarter mile away, as the driver attempted to turn right onto Nickerson Drive, the U-Haul crashed into a sport utility vehicle waiting to make a left onto Whitmore. The people in the SUV were not injured.

The driver of the U-Haul and his female passenger got out of the vehicle and ran north on railroad tracks just east of Nickerson, Hatzigeorgiou said.

A woman was found hiding in a car behind the business. A police dog was used to continue the search for the man, whom the dog found hiding in a nearby dumpster, Hatzigeorgiou said.

Both suspects were taken to a hospital, the woman for injuries sustained in the crash and the man for dog bites sustained during his apprehension.

Harash Patang, 33, was arrested on suspicion of felony evading, hit and run and resisting arrest. Tamra Rodriguez, 35, was arrested on suspicion of resisting arrest.

This story was originally published November 12, 2015 at 7:43 PM with the headline "Two burglary suspects arrested after pursuit, crash in south Modesto."