Uber driver arrested after 100 mph chase, CHP says

A man died Thursday night after stepping into the path of a car on Interstate 80 in Vallejo, triggering a chain reaction crash. A man died Thursday night after stepping into the path of a car on Interstate 80 in Vallejo, triggering a chain reaction crash. Photo: California Highway Patrol / Photo: California Highway Patrol / Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Uber driver arrested after 100 mph chase, CHP says 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

An Uber driver who fled from officers who tried to pull him over for having his high beams on ended up getting shot with a stun gun and arrested after leading the California Highway Patrol on a high-speed chase through at least five East Bay cities, authorities said Tuesday.

It started just before 9 p.m. Monday when a CHP officer tried to pull over 37-year-old Idrees Zalmy of Newark, who was alone in his car at the time, on eastbound Interstate 80 near San Pablo Dam Road in San Pablo, said Officer Sean Wilkenfeld, a CHP spokesman.

Zalmy led officers on a chase through Richmond, Albany, Emeryville, Berkeley and into Oakland, sometimes pushing his Toyota Camry to speeds in excess of 100 mph, Wilkenfeld said.

The chase ended on southbound I-880 near High Street in Oakland when officers threw down spike strips, popping Zalmy’s tires and disabling his vehicle, Wilkenfeld said.

The driver got out of the car but refused to obey orders to surrender, Wilkenfeld said, and officers used a stun gun to subdue him before placing him under arrest.

Zalmy listed his occupation as an Uber driver, according to county jail records, but Wilkenfeld said he was alone in the car at the time of the pursuit.

An Uber representative said Zalmy had signed up as a driver for the company only about a week and a half before Monday night’s incident, had picked up only six fares during that time, and was not logged on to the ride-hailing service when the chase began.

He has since been suspended, and Uber has offered the CHP whatever assistance it can, the spokeswoman said.

Zalmy was booked on suspicion of felony evading and resisting arrest and was in custody Tuesday afternoon in lieu of $80,000 bail.

Kale Williams is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kwilliams@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @sfkale