SAN DIEGO – A potential international incident was averted following a chase on Interstate 8 in Mission Valley that came to a happy ending amid a strange misunderstanding between a Chinese family on vacation and San Diego police late Sunday night.
The incident began before 11:45 p.m. when a San Diego police patrol vehicle attempted to pull over a Honda CR-V on I-8 east near State Route 163.
The SUV carrying a family of three initially came to a stop in the middle of the freeway, police said, but then sped up and continued for another few minutes before pulling off on the shoulder near Mission Gorge Road.
Officers surrounded the SUV with their guns drawn as a female passenger exited, clearly confused. Officers then asked the male driver to come out. A little boy was also brought out of the SUV.
After engaging the family, officers learned they were on a vacation from China and did not realize they needed to pull over when the patrol vehicle turned on its lights and sirens.
Following the ordeal, one of the officers gave the little boy a high five and an SDPD sticker. Police then sent the family on its way with no citations.
