A federal grand jury indicted a California man accused of stealing a Yosemite National Park ranger’s vehicle and leading a “high-speed chase” before driving off a cliff.
US Attorney Phillip A. Talbert said in a news release that Christian Claustro, 28, is charged with theft of personal property, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, and fleeing or eluding a police officer. If convicted, he faces up to 13 years in prison and $510,000 in fines.
According to the release, Claustro stole the vehicle from a Yosemite National Park ranger who had pulled over to remove a bike left in the roadway on December 26, 2022. This prompted a “high-speed chase” through the park, eventually reaching Ferguson Slide bridge.
National park rangers. David Calvert/Getty Images
Claustro drove the wrong way on the bridge and collided with another vehicle, prosecutors said. While the other vehicle was “disabled by the amount of damage caused,” Claustro continued until he drove off a cliff, falling 200 feet to the bottom of a canyon.
This isn’t the first time tourists have been accused of misbehaving in US national parks. In May 2023, a bison calf had to be euthanized after a man lifted it out of a river in Yellowstone National Park, prompting its herd to reject it.
An unidentified man disturbed a bison calf in Lamar Valley near the confluence of the Lamar River and Soda Butte Creek in Yellowstone National Park. Hellen Jack/National Parks Service
“Visitors later observed the calf walk up to and follow cars and people,” a news release for that incident said. “Park rangers tried repeatedly to reunite the calf with the herd, but their efforts were unsuccessful.”
It added: “The calf was later euthanized by park staff because it was abandoned by the herd and causing a hazardous situation by approaching cars and people along the roadway.”
The man pleaded guilty to one count of feeding, touching, teasing, frightening, or intentionally disturbing wildlife.
In August 2023, Yellowstone National Park banned a tourist accused of being intoxicated when he went off-trail in one of the park’s thermal areas. According to a news release, the man pleaded not guilty to criminal charges but is banned from Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks until the charges are resolved.
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