An 18-year-old made an attempt to flee from police after a collision with another vehicle, but was tracked down by the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department’s helicopter and arrested Thursday night.

The suspect was identified as Jaime Nuno, 18. He was booked into Stanislaus County Jail on allegations of evading in a reckless manner and hit and run.

The incident that sparked the pursuit and eventually led to Nuno’s arrest was a hit and run collision. It was reported around 9 p.m. Thursday and happened at the intersection of Countryside and Retreat drives.

The collision was witnessed by an off-duty officer who saw a gray Chrysler 200, driven by Nuno, rear-end a blue Nissan SUV. Instead of stopping, Nuno sped off southbound on Countryside Drive.

A pursuit ensued, during which Nuno was driving at a high rate of speed, cutting off vehicles, changing lanes without signaling, and running red lights at multiple intersections, said Turlock Police spokesman Sgt. Mike Parmley.

At N. Golden State Boulevard and Olive Avenue the pursuit was called off for safety concerns, but the Air Unit AIR101 took over. The helicopter crew reported that they “detected a very hot thermal signature coming from a sedan at a high rate of speed,” southbound on Golden State Boulevard approaching Golf Link Road.

The crew then tracked the vehicle to the 11000 block of Golf Link Road, where a man, later identified as Nuno, was seen running from the vehicle and into an orchard between E. Clausen and W. Bradbury roads.

Nuno was called out of the orchard, with the helicopter spotlight shining down on him and was taken into custody.

The person driving the Nissan that was hit did not need medical attention, Parmley said.