Carjack suspect eludes Petaluma police

Petaluma police are seeking a suspected carjacker who stole a running car Wednesday night from a grocery store parking lot, pushed an elderly occupant out a door and fled south on Highway 101 at speeds up to 100 mph, losing officers in Marin County .

The dramatic theft of the white, 2004 Volvo Cross Country wagon was reported about 5:50 p.m. at the Lucky store on Lakeville Street, Sgt. Andrew Urton said.

An 85-year-old man told officers he was loading groceries into the car after his wife finished shopping when a suspect described as being in his early 20s with blonde hair shut the trunk and hopped into the driver’s seat.

The victim tried to stop the theft by jumping in the passenger seat but was pushed out as the suspect drove away, Urton said. He sustained minor injuries in the fall, he said.

Officers spotted the car entering southbound Highway 101 at East Washington Street. The man accelerated, passing other cars on the shoulder, before getting off the freeway at Petaluma Boulevard South and immediately getting back on, Urton said.

Driving recklessly and at high speeds, he crossed into Marin County, where he lost officers near Novato, Urton said.

A search with multiple police agencies and the Sonoma County sheriff’s Henry 1 helicopter yielded no results, he said.

Anyone with information about the carjacking is asked to call police at 781-1203.