California: Border Patrol agent nearly struck by car outside San Clemente
California Law Enforcement Other
A U.S. Border Patrol agent had a close call early Tuesday at a checkpoint on northbound Interstate 5 near San Clemente, authorities said. The agent was conducting an inspection around 2:20 a.m. when he was almost hit by a Dodge Dart sedan driven by a 26-year-old man, Ralph DeSio, a spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, said in a statement.
The man sped away from the checkpoint and was followed by agents northbound on Interstate 5, where his vehicle crashed into a tree and caught fire at Cristianitos Road, DeSio said.
The fire was extinguished by Border Patrol agents and the man was taken to a local hospital as a precaution, said DeSio.
Details on whether the driver was injured or arrested were not immediately available Tuesday.