UPDATED: DUI Suspect Leads Deputies, CHP on Chase Through Oceanside

Updated at 9:48 p.m. with more information.

Originally posted at 2:48 p.m. July 21, 2014. Edited with new details.

A reckless-driving and DUI suspect allegedly led authorities on a pursuit from the Laguna Niguel Gateway area into San Diego County Monday, July 21, sometimes hitting speeds in excess of 100 mph before the vehicle crashed near Encinitas.

California Highway Patrol officers laid down a spike-strip to stop the convertible near Harbor Drive in Oceanside, but the fleeing driver was able to steer around it, authorities said.

The driver was later identified as 37-year-old Robert George Baker III of
Trabuco Canyon; he suffered serious injuries, as did the driver of another vehicle clipped by the suspect's car, officers said.

Both Baker and the 63-year-old driver of a Toyota Camry struck by the convertible were taken to hospitals.

The chase began about 2 p.m. at Avery Parkway and the southbound San Diego (5) Freeway, according to Orange County sheriff's Lt. Jeff Hallock.

Deputies were trying to stop the motorist on suspicion of reckless driving and DUI, but he sped off south on the freeway, Hallock said.

California Highway Patrol officers picked up the southbound chase at El Camino Real in San Clemente, Hallock said.

When he got into the area of Encinitas, his convertible clipped the front of a 2011 Toyota Camry, crashed to a halt into a metal barrier at the edge of the 5 Freeway and caught fire, CHP Officer Jim Bettencourt said.

Officers extinguished the flames and took Baker into custody.

"He stated to officers that he crashed into the guardrail in an attempt
to end his life,'' Bettencourt said.

Baker was expected to face felony charges for the chase and crash upon
being released from medical care, Bettencourt said.

--City News Service