TEMPE, Ariz. — A car chase that began on Interstate 10 near Casa Grande ended early Friday morning in Tempe.
The Pinal County Sheriff's Office attempted to stop a vehicle at about 12:30 a.m. near milepost 198. The driver allegedly continued driving north on I-10.
PCSO deputies tried using speed spikes to detain the fleeing vehicle but that strategy was unsuccessful.
The pursuit continued until the suspect's car crashed near McClintock Drive and Rio Salado Parkway, which is not far from Tempe Town Lake.
The wrecked vehicle was empty by the time deputies arrived at the crash site. One injured person was located outside of the car. All other occupants fled and PCSO has not yet located them.
Up to Speed
How big is Maricopa County?
Maricopa County is the United States’ 4th largest county in terms of population with 4,485,414 people, according to the 2020 Census.
The county contains around 63% of Arizona’s population and is 9,224 square miles. That makes the county larger than seven U.S. states (Rhode Island, Delaware, Connecticut, Hawaii, New Jersey, Massachusetts and New Hampshire).
One of the largest park systems in the nation is also located in Maricopa County. The county has an estimated 120,000 acres of open space parks that includes hundreds of miles of trails, nature centers and campgrounds.
The county’s seat is located in Phoenix, which is also the state capital and the census-designated 5th most populous city in the United States. The county was named after the Maricopa, or Piipaash, Native American Tribe.
What is the Valley?
“The Valley” is what locals call the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. It is considered the largest metropolitan area in the Southwest.
The Valley is made up of various major cities other than Phoenix, including:
- Mesa
- Chandler
- Scottsdale
- Tempe
- Glendale
- Surprise
- Peoria
- Gilbert
- El Mirage
- Avondale
- Litchfield Park
- Goodyear
- Buckeye
Whether a city is in the “East Valley” or “West Valley” depends on where it is in relation to Phoenix.
The cities of the Valley have a combined population of 4,845,832 people, according to the 2020 United States Census. This makes it the 11th largest metropolitan area in the country right behind the Boston and Atlanta areas.
