High-speed pursuit ends in violent wreck in Chatsworth
Two suspects were arrested after a short pursuit ended with a violent crash in Chatsworth early Wednesday morning that sent an innocent driver to the hospital.
The incident began at 12:40 a.m. when Los Angeles police officers attempted to pull over a BMW on the 405 Freeway suspected of drunken driving.
The driver refused to stop, prompting a high-speed chase that wound its way onto the westbound 118 Freeway. Officers allegedly halted their pursuit due to the high speeds. However, a police chopper continued to follow the car from above.
The suspect made his way onto surface streets in Chatsworth. Just five minutes after the chase had started, the suspect slammed into two cars at the intersection of Chatsworth Street and De Soto Avenue.
The BMW was left mangled in the roadway. The driver and a male passenger tried to run from the crash scene but were arrested. They were also taken to a hospital to be evaluated. They were not immediately identified.
One of the two other cars that was struck ended up on the lawn of a church, with its driver trapped inside. The driver was extricated by firefighters and taken to a hospital, but is expected to survive.
The third driver, who was not hurt, described the chaotic wreck.
"Looks like it had already been impacted, it came skidding right at me, shrapnel in the road, I swerved to get out of the way, but it ploughed right into me," driver Austin Peck told reporters.
The exact circumstances which prompted officers to attempt to pull over the BMW were still unclear.