A high-speed 5 Freeway pursuit, which passed through the Santa Clarita Valley exceeding speeds of 100 miles per hour late Thursday evening, ended west of Bakersfield after an extensive search of the suspect who fled on foot, officials said.

On Thursday around 11 p.m., dispatchers for the California Highway Patrol advised CHP Newhall units of a pursuit approaching the area from Central Los Angeles for a suspect wanted for speed, said Officer Josh Greengard, spokesperson for the Newhall office.

“At 11:16 p.m., Newhall units entered the pursuit as the primary unit,” Greengard said.

Officers attempted to use spike strips to disable the vehicle near the truck scale just north of Magic Mountain Parkway, but were unsuccessful, according to Greengard.

“The pursuit speeds ranged from 45 to 110 mph, with the suspect vehicle blacking out at times,” Greengard said.

After the suspect left the Santa Clarita Valley, Fort Tejon CHP took over the pursuit in the Grapevine before handing it over to the Buttonwillow CHP Office, according to investigators.

“The pursuit came in our area around 12:30 this morning,” said Officer Adam Taylor, a spokesperson for the Buttonwillow CHP Area Office.

Buttonwillow CHP officers were able to successfully spike the vehicle near Copus Road and the 5 Freeway in the City of Taft just east of Bakersfield, according to Taylor.

The suspect exited the Freeway at Copus Road and drove west into farm lands and took off on foot where officers lost visual on the suspect, according to Taylor.

CHP officers briefly searched the farm lands, however, were unsuccessful in locating the suspect due to it being dark, according to CHP officials.

“We resumed the search at daylight, and about 8:30 this morning we located the sole occupant,” Taylor said.

It is not clear why the suspect was running from law enforcement.

“He was not wanted, or not in a stolen vehicle,” Taylor said. “We are not investigating this as a DUI at this point.”
Isaiah Villaolivo, 21 from Pasadena, was arrested and charged with felony evading and booked into the Kern County jail, Taylor added.

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