Atascadero man leads police on chase through county
65-year-old Richard Russell Hansen arrested
Richard Russell Hansen.
— On Friday, at approximately 11 a.m., a Coastal Division California Highway Patrol unit attempted to make a stop on a possible DUI driver in a white 1986 Ford pickup traveling southbound on US 101 at Monterey Road in San Luis Obispo. The driver, now identified as 65-year-old Atascadero resident Richard Russell Hansen, failed to yield to red lights and a siren and took the Monterey Street exit.
The suspect began to travel through San Luis Obispo on surface streets. He re-entered US 101 at Higuera Street and was now northbound still failing to yield. The pursuit ranged in speed from 30 mph to 100 mph, according to police. The pursuit crested the Cuesta Grade on US 101 where it was picked up by CHP helicopter H-70.
Templeton CHP units took over the pursuit just north of Highway 58. The vehicle exited the freeway at Santa Barbara Road and continued to evade CHP vehicles using the surface streets of Atascadero.
The Ford pickup came to a stop at the intersection of El Camino Real and Avenida Maria where the suspect took foot bail into an apartment complex.
CHP officers gave foot pursuit and utilized an electronic control device to stop the suspect, and he was taken into custody without further incident, according to the police report.
The suspect was medically cleared and booked into the San Luis Obispo County Jail for felony evading, DUI, open container, suspended license and a probation violation.
