A Merced man who had reportedly been tailgating another driver and flashing his high beams died early Saturday when he crashed while fleeing the California Highway Patrol.
In a 911 call at 2:19 a.m., the other driver reported the tailgating on northbound Highway 99 near Highway 140, at the west edge of Merced, the CHP said.
An officer caught up to the suspected tailgater, in a 1997 Toyota SUV, about 12 miles north on 99, approaching Livingston.
The driver refused to pull over, the CHP said. He continued almost 30 miles on Highway 99 and exited the highway onto westbound Kansas Avenue in Modesto. Barely a mile after that, on a residential stretch of Kansas, he lost control of the vehicle and hit a tree, a power pole and a concrete block wall.
The driver, a 39-year-old man, died at the scene, the CHP said. He was the only person in the SUV. His name has not yet been released.
