SAN DIEGO: A suspected car thief eluded police early yesterday by diving into a drainage pipe after leading officers on a freeway chase from Miramar to La Jolla.

Officers tried to pull over the driver about 2:20 a.m. on Miramar Road near Carroll Road after seeing him run a red light, San Diego police Sgt. Kerry Tom said.

But instead of stopping, the driver sped off, Tom said. After running over a spike strip near La Jolla Village Drive, the man continued to drive as his tires shredded and sparks flew from the rims.

The driver was pulled over shortly after 2:30 a.m. and ditched the vehicle, which was quickly engulfed in flames, near state Route 52 and ran up to the top of a 200-foot embankment.

The man glanced down, looked back at the officers behind him and “without hesitation” jumped headfirst into a drainage pipe – estimated at about 30 inches wide and at a 45-degree angle – and “disappeared into the darkness,” Tom said. “It was a long, long, way down.”

The pipe goes under the freeway and eventually lets out near the ocean. But it also branches off in several directions, with homeless people living in some sections, the sergeant said. It was dry at the time.

Officers were stationed at several exit points, but the man wasn't seen emerging, and the search was called off. –D.B.