Two face felony charges after pursuit and crash

It started when Morgan Hill police noticed a vehicle didn’t match its license plate. It ended minutes later with a crash and two people facing a handful of felony charges.

Police say on they tried to pull over a car Wednesday morning in the area of Monterey Rd. and Vineyard Blvd. when a computer check showed the vehicle’s make/model and license plate didn’t match. The driver took off and drove northbound on Monterey Road, driving erratically and ignoring stop lights.

Police pursued until the driver approached downtown Morgan Hill, where they terminated pursuit for public safety.

Officers found the car a few minutes later, crashed and abandoned at the intersection of Monterey Road and Madrone Parkway. Witnesses say a man and woman ran from the scene.

A short time later, Nikki Rodriguez, 32, from San Jose, and driver Manuel Alvarez, 41, from Oakland, were taken into custody.

The suspects were charged with felony evading, felony hit & run, felony DUI, and possession of illegal drug paraphernalia.

Rodriguez also had a $25,000 narcotics violation warrant out of San Jose Police Department. Both suspects were later transported and booked in to the Santa Clara County Main Jail.