John Becerra, 33, from San Francisco, was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving by the Tracy police on the 400 block of Toni Court, after a vehicle chase Friday afternoon.
According to Tracy police Sgt. Tony Sheneman, police received a phone call at 3:02 pm from another driver who reported an Infiniti SUV swerving all over the roadway as it traveled north on Corral Hollow Road.
Police officers responded to the call and spotted a man allegedly holding some type of bottle in his hand while driving. They located him near the Parker Avenue intersection when he was turning right on Grant Line Road. The man was later identified as Becerra.
The officers tried to stop the SUV several times, but Becerra allegedly failed to stop each time. He lead Tracy police on a vehicle chase through the eastern and western parts of the city. At one point, it appeared that he was going to stop on Grant Line Road, near Colony Drive.
“He motioned to stop … but he did not come to a complete stop,” Sheneman said. “He turned left onto MacArthur Drive and pulled over.”
According to the police reports, when the officer was about to get out of his car, Becerra either intentionally or accidentally put his vehicle in reverse and rammed the front of the officer’s car. He then drove off, making a left on MacArthur Drive heading north, turning left again on Pescadero Avenue, just before the Tracy Outlet Mall. Sheneman said no damage was caused to the police car.
Becerra was finally arrested on suspicion of drunken driving when his Infiniti SUV crashed into a tree in the front yard of a single-family house. Luckily, no one was hurt. A wine bottle was seen on the ground next to Becerra’s SUV at the scene of the crash. Alcohol bottles were also recovered from inside the SUV by police officers.
The resident of the house, Sergio Zamora, spoke with the authorities after the crash through a Spanish interpreter. He informed them that his wife was very scared and was crying and was too upset to leave the house after the crash.
His brother-in-law, Octavio Maldonado, who was present inside the house when the SUV crashed into the tree, also heard the loud bang. He said he was shaken by the whole incident and watched as a tow truck removed the SUV from the front yard of his sister’s house.
“She heard the noise, big bang,” he said. “She called her husband. That’s what happens when you drink and drive. Lucky nobody got hurt.”
Police reports also documented another accident when Becerra sideswiped another tree in Tracy before the crash, which caused damage to the SUV’s front driver’s side, breaking the windshield. However, Sheneman was unsure where that impact had occurred.
Becerra was booked into San Joaquin County Jail in French Camp after his arrest.
