CHP SEEK MAN AFTER CAR CHASE.

Byline: Bhavna Mistry Staff Writer

California Highway Patrol officials are searching for a speeding motorist who led officers on a short high-speed pursuit before jumping out of his vehicle and fleeing on foot.

CHP officers spotted a 1999 red Chevrolet traveling at high speed southbound on Sierra Highway north of Shannondale Road at 1:40 a.m. The driver initially stopped for the pursuing patrol vehicle but then sped off as the officers approached on foot.

``The driver slowed and pulled over to the shoulder,'' said CHP Sgt. Mike Nemback. ``As the officer exited his vehicle, the driver accelerated and pulled away.''

The driver and one passenger continued westbound on Shannondale Road at speeds of 80 mph for about three-quarters of a mile before stopping the vehicle in the middle of the road and running from it.

``The driver goes one way and the passenger goes the other way,'' Nemback said.

The passenger, Arturo Avila, was found hiding in a field a short distance away.

Avila, 33, who is on parole, is being held at the Santa Clarita Valley sheriff's station without bail on suspicion of resisting arrest.

CHP officials and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department have been unable to locate the driver.