By Deke Farrow
The Modesto Bee
MODESTO, Calif. — A Modesto police officer suffered major injuries when struck on Yosemite Boulevard by a vehicle fleeing the California Highway Patrol early Tuesday. The incident began when the CHP spotted the suspect going the wrong way on Highway 99.
Juan Arroyo, an officer for five years, remained hospitalized in serious but stable condition Tuesday afternoon, Modesto Police Department spokeswoman Heather Graves said.
The collision occurred about 1:30 a.m. on Yosemite at North Santa Ana Avenue. Emergency dispatch had advised Modesto police that the CHP was in pursuit of a Toyota Tundra pickup truck in Modesto’s airport neighborhood.
Arroyo had been heading west on Yosemite to assist. The suspect, Modesto resident Nazario Daniel Castillo IV, 25, was driving north on South Santa Ana Avenue when he ran the stop sign at Yosemite and broadsided Arroyo’s patrol car.
Arroyo suffered major injuries including fractured bones, said CHP Modesto-area spokesman Officer Thomas Olsen. The Modesto Fire Department said the officer had to be extricated from his patrol car.
Castillo was ejected from the pickup and suffered moderate injuries, including lacerations, Olsen said. He also was taken to a hospital for treatment.
The pursuit of Castillo began about 1 a.m. when a CHP unit going south on Highway 99 just north of Carpenter Road saw the Tundra coming at it in the wrong direction, Olsen said. “Our officers swerved out of the path of the vehicle to avoid a head-on collision,” he said. “They broadcast the wrong-way driver and got off the highway.”
Castillo continued going north in the southbound lanes, got off the highway at Beckwith Road and went east on Standiford Avenue.
Another CHP unit attempted to pull over Castillo on Standiford at Dale Road, but he turned and fled on southbound Highway 99. With the CHP in pursuit, Castillo took the Tuolumne Boulevard exit and went east.
The chase continued through the airport neighborhood, the CHP said, and Castillo ended up traveling north on South Santa Ana.
https://twitter.com/ModestoPolice/status/953297204793389056
After the crash, Castillo showed objective signs of intoxication, the CHP reported. He faces charges of evading an officer and causing injury or death; evading an officer and reckless driving; and driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs and causing bodily injury.
Arroyo and fellow Officer Jeremy Davis were honored in 2016 by the Police Department and by the American Red Cross for administering CPR that saved the life of a 46-year-old Modesto man.
Anyone with information on the pursuit or crash is encouraged to call Crime Stoppers at 209-521-4636. Callers to Crime Stoppers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a cash reward.
©2018 The Modesto Bee (Modesto, Calif.)