A sedan involved in a road-rage incident smashed into a Lakeside hair salon and burst into flames Saturday night.

A man and woman in the car ran away, so it wasn’t known if either was injured, a fire official said. No one was in the salon at the time.

Soon after, sheriff’s deputies pursued a car they thought contained the passenger who ran from the fiery crash, sheriff’s Lt. Brian Nevins said. Several men were taken into custody in the aftermath, including one who, when cornered in a store, started stabbing himself in the neck.

They later determined the vehicle in the pursuit wasn’t involved in the crash, Nevins said. The man and woman who fled the wreckage had not been located Sunday.


The road-rage incident erupted between two drivers headed west on state Route 67 about 6:50 p.m., Nevins said. One of the drivers involved told deputies he knew there was a sheriff’s substation nearby, so he exited the freeway to get help.

The other driver tried to cut him off as he turned from Vine Street onto Parkside Street and lost control of her silver Chevrolet Cruze in the process, said Nevins. She smashed into Solis Hair Studio and flames that erupted at the front of the car quickly spread to the salon, Lakeside fire Division Chief Bernard Molloy said.

Firefighters got the blaze under control quickly, but not before the shop was heavily damaged by the collision and the fire. Smoke spread into two adjoining apartments behind the salon. Two families living there had to leave for the night because the entire building was unsafe, Molloy said.

Witnesses told authorities that the driver and passenger ran away.


Minutes after the crash, sheriff’s deputies got into a pursuit with a black Mustang they thought contained the passenger who was in the Cruze, Nevins said. Before getting on the freeway, one of the occupants jumped from the car. That man was was taken into custody and taken to a hospital with a head and shoulder injury.

Deputies then chased the Mustang south on state Route 67 at 80 and 90 mph to El Cajon.

The driver got off the freeway and stopped the car on Coogan Way, off Magnolia Avenue, where he and two passengers bolted, Nevins said.

Deputies caught up with one passenger soon after and arrested him. The driver was spotted running into a CVS store on Fletcher Parkway. When cornered by deputies, the 27-year-old pulled out a knife and threatened to stab himself. He then darted into a break room and barricaded himself inside.


He started stabbing himself in the neck when deputies forced their way in, prompting one deputy to fire a Taser at the man. He was quickly taken into custody and transported to a hospital.

Both men who were arrested are expected to be booked on charges related to the pursuit.