Overview
- A Tesla that its owner reported stolen led police on a chase before the vehicle drove onto the Pacific Beach boardwalk and struck a 25-year-old woman on Monday, injuring her seriously.
- Bystanders chased the fleeing driver after he abandoned the car, pinned him to the ground in a nearby parking lot and held him until officers arrived.
- Prosecutors say the victim suffered fractured vertebrae, broken ribs and an abdominal laceration that required stitches and she remains hospitalized.
- Juan Antonio Gonzaba, 39, pleaded not guilty at his arraignment on five felony counts including evading an officer causing serious bodily injury, assault with a deadly weapon, hit-and-run and vehicle theft, and a judge ordered him held without bail.
- Investigators are continuing a suspected DUI and hit-and-run probe, awaiting toxicology and vehicle-forensic results, and prosecutors have cited Gonzaba's long criminal record and prior failures to appear as reasons for pretrial detention.