Man charged with stealing Yosemite Park employee vehicle, which he drove off a cliff during chase
![El Capitan, Half Dome and Bridalveil Fall.](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/0f4f68b/2147483647/strip/true/crop/4481x2533+0+0/resize/1200x678!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fbe%2F4d%2Fe0c73bb346939002ea919996e56b%2Fwk-national-parks-yosemite-np-10.jpg)
A federal grand jury has indicted a Rancho Cucamonga man with theft, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and fleeing police after he allegedly stole a Yosemite National Park employee’s vehicle, then drove it off a cliff during a high-speed chase.
Christian Claustro, 28, was indicted on Thursday in federal court in Fresno, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert said in a news release. If convicted, Claustro could face up to a total of 13 years in prison and fines of up to $510,000.
![People take pictures in the snow at Yosemite.](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/97843a5/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6341x4227+0+0/resize/1200x800!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F2e%2Fa0%2F0fc3595b4f9fb2ccc2ad576b4c34%2F1230856-me-winter-in-yosemite-10-cmc.jpg)
On Dec. 26, 2022, Claustro stole the vehicle of a Yosemite Park employee who had pulled over to remove a bike from the roadway, according to the U.S. Attorney’s news release.
Claustro then led a park ranger on a high-speed chase that continued to the Ferguson Slide bridge, where he drove the wrong way and collided head-on with another motorist, authorities said. Claustro continued until he drove off a cliff, the news release says, plummeting 200 feet to the bottom of a canyon.
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