Disturbing video footage showed a Tesla barreling onto a California boardwalk, hitting a woman and careening past surprised onlookers.
Juan Antonio Gonzaba, 39, reportedly stole the blue Model X around noon on Monday, speeding toward San Diego’s Pacific Beach.
Police noticed the car driving down Mission Boulevard at about 12:30 PM and attempted to pull it over.
However, Gonzaba fled, hitting an SDG&E transformer before veering onto the boardwalk and racing past pedestrians.
A man wearing Meta glasses recorded the chaotic scene as a nearby woman narrowly avoided the car.
At 12:40 PM, the Tesla struck a 25-year-old woman on the boardwalk, resulting in serious injuries.
She sustained two fractured ribs, two fractured vertebrae, and a grazing cut to her abdomen, according to police reports.
“Many people quickly dove out of the way, and it could have been a lot worse,” said Candace Hadley, a public information officer for the San Diego Fire Department, in a conversation with NBC San Diego.
“This area is always busy; having a car drive through here is really terrifying,” she added.
Witnesses recounted the alarming incident.
Miguel Valle noted hearing a commotion and then seeing the navy blue Tesla zoom past him at a high speed, possibly 50 mph, as it attempted to escape.
One cyclist had to leap off his bike to avoid being hit. “I was in the middle of the path and I launched myself off my bike,” explained Alex Srour, the man filming the event.
The police decided to end their pursuit for public safety reasons. Gonzaba eventually stopped the Tesla on the boardwalk near Baja Beach Cafe, sparking a foot chase by bystanders.
Srour ran after him, managed to catch up, and detained him until the police arrived. Footage shows the suspect apologizing while being confronted by the Good Samaritan.
Gonzaba was arrested and is facing a felony hit-and-run investigation, with police suspecting he may have been under the influence at the time.
The boardwalk remained closed for several hours, reopening around 4 PM that same day.
