Driver arrested after police pursuit closes lanes of north I-15 near Miramar

A driver suspected of stealing a trailer was arrested Tuesday morning after leading officers on a freeway pursuit that prompted the closure of northbound Interstate 15 lanes near Miramar for more than an hour.

The incident began after someone called police shortly after 7:30 a.m. to report that a woman was attempting to steal a trailer from a business on Balboa Avenue near Convoy Street in Kearny Mesa, said police Sgt. David Yu.

Officers went to investigate the call and saw a woman in a Toyota 4Runner that was pulling a trailer driving away. Police tried to initiate a traffic stop, but the driver drove onto northbound I-15, Yu said.

There was a short pursuit on the freeway, which ended when a tire blew on the SUV. The trailer ended up on its side near Pomerado Road, said police spokesperson Sgt. Saum Poorsaleh. The driver refused to exit the vehicle.

Shortly after 8:30 a.m., the California Highway Patrol issued a traffic alert, and officers began moving vehicles off the freeway at Miramar Way, according to the agency’s online log.

Poorsaleh said officers were trying to de-escalate the situation.

At some point, he said, the woman started driving the disabled SUV again, this time heading north in the southbound lanes of I-15. She possibly clipped a couple of vehicles before stopping again on the inside shoulder of I-15 south of Mira Mesa Boulevard, Poorsaleh said.

The driver then got out of her vehicle and approached other motorists and attempted to get into other cars, police said. She was arrested by police around 9:45 a.m., Poorsaleh said.

The two inside lanes of southbound I-15 were blocked off by the police activity, but he said the outside lanes remained open.

No other details were immediately available.