A high-speed chase in San Diego, California, culminated in a Nissan Murano going airborne and rolling over on the highway after crashing into a Jeep Gladiator. The Murano driver was fleeing from police and attempting to weave in between traffic on Interstate 8 when he hit the oversized tire of the Jeep, launching the Murano upwards and flipping it onto its side, as NBC San Diego reports.
The driver and passengers of the Gladiator were unharmed in the crash, but the front passenger of the Murano was taken to the hospital to be treated for injuries that she sustained in the crash. Meanwhile, the Murano’s driver fled on foot but was later caught by police, according to the family in the Jeep.
The crash happened late in the afternoon of July 15 along eastbound I-8 and near Old Town in San Diego, per NBC. Video footage of the crash was posted to a few different accounts on social media by the off-road enthusiast group whose convoy was struck during the high-speed chase.
The Murano driver was reportedly trying to evade officers during a routine traffic stop for an expired registration, as the San Diego Police Department claims. But the Nissan SUV fled, and the chase ensued. The Murano hit at least one other vehicle while taking an onramp along I-5 but kept going, leading to the crash with the Jeep and the rollover.
As the off-road enthusiasts explain on YouTube, the convoy was returning home from an extended trip to Baja California when the Gladiators were caught in the high-speed pursuit. The convoy was made up of three Jeep Gladiators, carrying several families who were admittedly worried about the dangers they might face while driving in Mexico.
Describing the experience, one member of the group said, “It’s hard to drive here. The roads are narrow. The drivers are not careful, and we don’t know where we are most of the time.” Another replied, “It’s been a long day of near misses and craziness…” You can imagine their surprise when the crash that ended their trip happened north of the border after the Jeeps had crossed into San Diego through Tijuana.
The three Gladiators are modified for off-roading and overlanding, sporting rooftop tents, truck bed racks, and, of course, large off-road tires. The 2022 Jeep Gladiator Rubicon struck by the Murano seems to have been riding on 40-inch Milestar Patagonia tires, according to the owner, who went on to say the “Patagonia 40’s can serve as a launchpad” for the fleeing Nissan and, yet, the Jeep was “still standing of [sic] her own four feet!”
The Gladiator seems to have made it relatively unscathed, save for the fenders, but it’s unclear what the total extent of the crash damage was. Clearly, the Jeep fared better than the Nissan Murano. The California Vehicle Code doesn’t prohibit tires of the same size as those on the Jeep—it only stipulates that they must be covered by fenders, to limit back-spray and debris. Nevertheless, the Murano may just as well have rolled even if fenders were in place, and it was of course the Nissan’s driver who put themselves, their passenger, and every other motorist in the vicinity in harm’s way.
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