BY ADRIANA HERNANDEZ
Daily Post Staff Writer
A driver who got flat tires after Menlo Park Police left a spike strip out is now asking the city to pay for his new wheels.
Christopher Joel Fitzgerald was driving through the Willow Road and University Avenue intersection on Oct. 1 at 2:20 a.m. when all four of the tires of his 2019 Ram truck were punctured by a spike strip, according to the claim he submitted to the city. Fitzgerald said the spike strip was left unattended when he drove through it and is now asking for $1,519, according to his claim.
That day, Menlo Police were in a short chase of a truck stolen in East Palo Alto, according to the police spokeswoman Nicole Acker. Lisabet Acosta Carbajal, 29, from Phoenix, Ariz., stole her boyfriend’s truck, speeding through residential streets where Menlo Park Police located her, Acker said. It was a 4.8-mile chase that lasted for 40 minutes, according to District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe. Carbajal was driving at 90 mph with no headlights and ran three red lights and six stop signs until she lost control, Wagstaffe said. The chase ended in an accident with seven other cars in North Fair Oaks, Acker said.
Carbajal was injured and taken to Stanford Hospital. She was booked for car theft, DUI and pursuit, according to Acker. Carbajal was charged with stealing the truck, avoiding police and a DUI, according to Wagstaffe.
Fitzgerald, who witnessed the pursuit, said he had to get his car towed, according to his claim. There was no warning and no officers in the area to help him after all four of his tires became flat, he wrote.
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