DPS: High speed pursuit ends near I-17 with suspect assaulting officer

It was a chaotic morning on a couple of valley freeways. A police chase started on Interstate 10 and 7th Avenue westbound, then headed north on Interstate 17.

The chase finally ended on I-17 at Thomas on the off-ramp.

"When I feel like he hit the truck, and I was scared, I never see that car," said Gonzalo Rosales.

Rosales was driving a semi truck when the driver hit his fuel tank early Thursday morning.

"The cops told me to turn it off, the truck, because it was leaking diesel," said Rosales.

"Spilled about 100-160 gallons of fuel on the roadway," said Sgt. Alan Haywood with the Department of Public Safety.

The suspect jumped out of the car; the passenger did too, both ran, and that's when a fight between the driver and an officer took place.

"I only see the guy running back there to the back of the trailer, the cops were behind him and caught him," said Rosales.

The subject was tased in the altercation with the officer, the officer was assaulted, so we're doing that part of the investigation," said Haywood.

The officer is okay, the suspect was taken into custody, and the passenger fled on foot.

DPS officials say they were trying to pull over the vehicle for speeding around 3:40 Thursday morning. When he took off, he sped up to at least 100 miles per hour on the freeway.

The I-17 and Thomas off ramp was reopened by 7 in the morning.