High-Speed Chase Ends in Fiery Crash, 7-Hour Search

FOLSOM, Calif. —  A parolee in a recreational vehicle led police on a high-speed chase that ended in a fiery crash, setting off a seven-hour manhunt before he was shot and dragged out of the American River early Monday.

Michael Sullivan, 35, was arrested after officers wounded him while searching along the river’s brush-filled banks near downtown Folsom east of Sacramento, sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. Rick Gibson said.

Sullivan was taken to UC Davis Medical Center, where he was listed in serious condition.

Sullivan, a member of the “Sacramaniacs,” a white supremacist prison gang known for selling drugs and weapons, had been under surveillance, wanted for drug violations and evading police by fleeing a checkpoint for drunken drivers, Gibson said.

The pursuit began about 7:30 p.m. Sunday after police tried to apprehend Sullivan just east of Sacramento. Instead, he allegedly drove off, firing at officers from his RV as they pursued him on city streets. Several miles later, officers put a spike strip across the roadway to stop the vehicle, which crashed down a ravine.

Sullivan came out shooting and officers returned fire, authorities said.

As Sullivan fled, the crashed vehicle burned, starting a brush fire in the ravine.

On Monday, investigators trolled the river to investigate Sullivan’s statement that there was another person in the recreational vehicle, Gibson said. No traces of another person were found as of Monday afternoon, he said.