85-Year-Old Man Hurt In Petaluma Carjacking; Suspect Arrested In San Francisco
PETALUMA (CBS SF) -- An 85-year-old man was injured during a carjacking in a supermarket parking lot in Petaluma, and a suspect was later arrested in San Francisco, according to police.
Officers responded at 5:50 p.m. Wednesday to the Lucky's Supermarket at 939 Lakeville St. in response to a carjacking that had just occurred.
The victim, identified as an 85-year-old man, told police he got out of his parked vehicle to help his wife load groceries into the trunk when a suspect shut the trunk, got into the driver's seat of the running vehicle and started to drive away.
The victim got into the front passenger's seat of the vehicle in an attempt to stop the suspect, but the suspect pushed the man out of the vehicle and accelerated away, police said.
The victim suffered minor injuries in the incident and was treated by the Petaluma Fire Department at the scene.
Later, an officer checking the area spotted the vehicle entering southbound U.S. Highway 101 and pursued the vehicle onto the highway, police said.
The suspect accelerated to speeds greater than 100 mph during the pursuit, exited and again entered the highway and was driving unsafe and recklessly in heavy traffic, police said.
Officers eventually lost sight of the suspect near Novato.
In San Francisco, an officer pulled a over a vehicle for a moving violation and for not having a rear license plate. The officer determined the vehicle, a 2004 Volvo XC70 cross-country wagon, had been stolen in Petaluma.
27-year-old Matthew Vidor, a transient from Sonoma County, was arrested without incident. He was booked at the Sonoma County Jail on charges of carjacking, evading police, elder abuse and assault with a deadly weapon.
TM and © Copyright 2015 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2015 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Bay City News Service contributed to this report.
