Bystanders chase down suspect after stolen car speeds down San Diego boardwalk

On Monday afternoon, a 39-year-old man named Juan Antonio Gonzaba stole a Tesla in La Jolla and led police on a high-speed chase in San Diego. Around 12:40 PM, the stolen vehicle drove onto the Pacific Beach boardwalk, hitting a pedestrian, a 25-year-old woman who was critically injured with two fractured ribs, two vertebrae fractures, and an abdominal laceration. She remains hospitalized.

Officers initially tried to stop Gonzaba on Mission Boulevard but he fled, causing damage to a San Diego Gas and Electric transformer before reaching the boardwalk at Thomas and Reed avenues. Bystanders chased Gonzaba when he abandoned the vehicle; one witness, Alex Srour, used Meta smart glasses to record the incident.

Gonzaba faces charges including assault with a deadly weapon, hit-and-run, and auto theft, potentially leading to up to 24 years and 8 months in prison if convicted. The San Diego Fire Department’s Candace Hadley warned of the severe public safety risk involved when such incidents occur on crowded walkways.