A woman led cops on a high-speed chase spanning nearly 200 miles across California in a minivan she allegedly stole and managed to escape across the border to Mexico after deftly avoiding every trap authorities set.
Alyssa Wilson, 29, fled from her sober living group home on East Hillcrest Drive in Thousand Oaks, roughly 180 miles away from the southern border between San Diego and Tijuana, on Monday.
Alyssa Wilson, 29, allegedly stole a minivan and fled to Mexico on Monday morning. FOX 11
Police said Wilson was in the middle of a mental health crisis when she allegedly stole the car. FOX 11She allegedly stole a shoddy gray 2004 Toyota Sienna minivan from the home and began her journey southbound.
The car’s rightful owner soon noticed that their vehicle and ignition key were missing and reported the theft to police, who tracked Wilson down at an intersection just 14 miles away from the sober living facility, according to the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office.
Wilson had no plans on letting up and “immediately fled” to the 118 Freeway eastbound, authorities said.
She floored it and started to cut down the freeway at 90 mph, 25 miles above the average speed limit along the major roadway.
Wilson crossed the border into Mexico after a short two-hour drive. FOX 11
Police tried and failed to lay out at least four sets of spikes to pop Wilson’s tires. FOX 11Deputies with the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office were hot on her tail, but surrendered command to the California Highway Patrol once Wilson crossed county lines into Los Angeles around 11 a.m.
From there, Wilson stayed on the southbound 405 Freeway while CHP officers spared no expense to try and stop her, including laying out at least four separate sets of spikes that she somehow swerved around.
During one attempt, officers stopped traffic on one freeway and lobbed a spike strip in front of the minivan, but it did not deploy correctly.
As Wilson neared her final destination, she merged onto the southbound 5 Freeway into San Diego County, then onto the south 805 Freeway before crossing over the US-Mexico border around 1:30 p.m., ABC 7 reported.
Wilson was staying at a sober living home in Thousand Oaks. NBCLADuring her entire sum-odd 180-mile journey, Wilson avoided virtually all traffic. She reached the border in just two hours, leaving authorities in the dust as she absconded into the dry pastures of Mexico.
After her successful escape across the border, Wilson crossed back into the US Tuesday through the San Ysidro Port of Entry – while still driving the same stolen minivan.
US Customs Officers detained her at approximately 1:10 p.m. and she was handed over to the CHP San Diego officers soon after.
The minivan was also safely recovered, and Wilson was remanded into the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department’s custody, according to a statement from the CHP San Diego Area Office.
Officials said that Wilson was experiencing a mental health crisis when she made off with the minivan.
The incident is still under investigation and the CHP said that charges against Wilson are pending.
