A very brief, and nearly tragic, high-speed chase ends in Montara

A very brief high-speed chase concluded with a crash in Montara at 8th Ave. and Highway 1 at 6:30am on Wednesday.

A man sped and through a red light (passing Sergeant John Gonzales of the San Mateo County Sheriff) at Highway 1 and Capistrano in El Granada on Wednesday morning.  "It wasn’t much of a high speed chase," Lt. Steve Shiveley told me. "By the time they caught up with him, it only lasted about half a mile."

At that point, in Montara, the driver suddenly changed direction and intentionally rammed Sergeant John Gonzales’s car.

At this point, says the County Times:

From the driver’s seat of a van he had crashed shortly after 6:30 a.m. at the intersection of Eighth Avenue and Highway 1, Gregory Martin, 45, wildly stabbed at Deputy Timothy Frayne and Sergeant John Gonzales with a 6- to 8-inch knife as they attempted to open his door, police said.

According to sheriff’s reports, Martin then appeared crazed and repeatedly yelled "kill me, kill me" to the deputies. Martin continued to wield the knife from inside the van, stabbing himself in the chest and stomach, police said.

About 10 Pacifica police officers and sheriff’s deputies negotiated with Martin for an hour before he surrendered, police said.