Steven Linsey. Provided by the Douglas County Sheriff's Office.
Law enforcement officers arrested a San Francisco man Friday following a high-speed chase of a black Chevrolet Impala that led police from California to Nevada and reached speeds between 90 and 100 mph.
Steven Linsey, 53, was booked into Douglas County’s Minden jail on suspicion of reckless driving, eluding a police officer, driving under the influence, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia, after coming to a stop at Jacks Valley Road and Trail Court in Carson Valley, according a Friday statement from the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office. Additional charges are pending from California, according to the statement.
The chase started about 9:55 a.m. near the agricultural station in Meyers after a California Highway Patrol officer tried to make a traffic stop for alleged reckless driving and possible driving under the influence, said California Highway Patrol spokesman Jeff Gartner.
The pursuit followed U.S. Highway 50 through South Lake Tahoe before heading over Kingsbury Grade and into Carson Valley. Nevada Highway Patrol officers deployed spike strips at the bottom of Kingsbury Grade in Carson Valley, according to police scanner traffic. Dispatchers reported the driver of the vehicle hit 100 mph coming down the grade and missed the spikes. He then turned left on Foothill Road and headed north.
Authorities closed down surrounding highways and prepared to intercept him at the intersection of Highway 395 and Jacks Valley Road, according to the scanner. Jacks Valley Elementary School was alerted and placed on temporary lockdown.
Around 10:15 a.m., the suspect came to a stop just north of Genoa. Douglas County Sheriff’s deputies then took the lone occupant into custody, Gartner said.
Construction workers said the driver came close to wrecking in Nevada’s oldest town.
“It looked like he was going to lose it on the curve,” a flagger said of the chase. “They came through here pretty fast.”
No one was injured in the incident. A Douglas County drug dog was brought in to help search the vehicle.
Linsey is being held on $28,511 bail.
The investigation is ongoing.
The Record-Courier contributed to this story.