Police Arrest O.C. Woman After Pursuit

VENTURA —  A 41-year-old San Clemente woman led authorities on a 130-mile high-speed pursuit from San Juan Capistrano on Monday before a pickup truck driver braked suddenly in front of her, forcing her to crash into his vehicle, California Highway Patrol officials said.

Tina A. Berger was taken to the Hillmont Psychiatric Center in Ventura for observation after she led officers on a pursuit through Orange, Los Angeles and Ventura counties, at times reaching speeds of 120 mph, said CHP spokeswoman Carol Kelly.

The pursuit began about noon on Interstate 5 near San Juan Capistrano when CHP Officer Jerry Graul tried to pull Berger over for speeding.

The car, emergency flashers blinking, moved back and forth across lanes, sometimes using the median strip to pass vehicles.

CHP cars stayed several hundred feet behind and a law enforcement helicopter flew overhead.

The chase ended on the Ventura Freeway near Telephone Road when Tony Biltoft, 34, of Oxnard saw the car approaching in the rear-view mirror of his pickup. Biltoft, who had seen the chase on TV before leaving home, slammed on his brakes, causing the car to rear-end his truck and stop in the center lane of the freeway. Berger was not injured.

Biltoft said he had been “concerned about what she could do to someone else,” but CHP officers criticized his actions as dangerous.

Northbound traffic came to a halt and Berger, who was not injured, was pulled from the car at gunpoint. She was taken to a county mental health facility for observation, said CHP Sgt. Dane Hayward.

Hayward said Berger told officers a Camp Pendleton marine base chaplain sent her to Santa Barbara to take over the West Coast chapter of an unspecified organization.