Alleged Tesla thief flees after crash, but barefoot bystanders did not let him get far
The suspect's getaway plan was foiled by barefoot heroes
A man accused of stealing a Tesla and injuring a pedestrian thought ditching the car and making a run for it might improve his situation. Unfortunately for him, several bystanders on San Diego’s Pacific Beach boardwalk were willing to ditch their shoes and run faster.
According to the Los Angeles Times, San Diego police identified the driver as 39-year-old Juan Antonio Gonzaba. Police said officers spotted the allegedly stolen Tesla on Mission Boulevard, but Gonzaba allegedly refused to stop. Officers eventually called off the pursuit because of the growing danger to the public.
Gonzaba reportedly continued driving before entering the busy Pacific Beach boardwalk and striking a 25-year-old woman. She was hospitalized with serious injuries that authorities said were not life-threatening. Gonzaba then allegedly abandoned the Tesla and fled on foot, only to discover some of the people chasing him were apparently willing to sacrifice their footwear to bring him to justice.
The getaway plan lost its wheels
Bystander Alex Srour told the Los Angeles Times he was riding his bike when he heard someone yell a warning and saw the Tesla speeding down the boardwalk. After Gonzaba left the vehicle and started running, Srour joined several other people chasing him into a nearby parking lot.
There was just one problem: Srour was wearing Birkenstocks; not exactly ideal for a high-speed on-foot pursuit. He told the outlet he ditched them halfway through the chase because they were slowing him down. Footage captured on his Meta glasses shows the pursuit ending with Gonzaba on the ground as Srour and other bystanders detained him until police arrived. Finally, Meta glasses, famously nicknamed “pervert glasses”, made headlines for being used for good.
The footwear sacrifice did not go unnoticed online. One social media commenter reportedly wrote, “The sound of you running barefoot on asphalt, I knew he stood no chance.” Another joked that Srour had “kicked it into gear.” Losing the getaway car was one problem. Getting outrun by someone who abandoned his Birkenstocks mid-chase really put the brakes on Plan B.
His shirt came with an ironic message
The footage contained one more detail the internet was unlikely to overlook. Gonzaba appeared to be wearing a shirt bearing the uncensored version of the phrase “F— around and find out.” One commenter dubbed it “the shirt of irony.” After all, he did indeed “f*** around” and definitely found out. Sadly, the incident itself had serious consequences.
NBC 7 San Diego reported that the woman struck by the Tesla suffered fractured ribs and vertebrae as well as an abdominal laceration. Surveillance footage also showed another woman jumping out of the vehicle’s path before it narrowly missed her. Tesla-related crashes have previously ended far more tragically. A 76-year-old woman in Texas was killed after a Tesla crashed into her home.
Police arrested Gonzaba on suspicion of DUI causing bodily injury, hit-and-run involving injury, vehicle theft, and felony evading. Whatever the plan was after leaving the Tesla behind, it apparently didn’t account for a group of heroes ready to chase him down, footwear optional.
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