Prius Driver Leading Police Pursuit Drives Off San Pedro Cliff
SAN PEDRO (CBSLA.com) — Police say a man driving a Toyota Prius drove off a San Pedro clifftop during a high-speed pursuit early Tuesday and survived the the 250- to 300-foot plunge.
The pursuit began after the suspect aimed his vehicle at Los Angeles Port Police officers in Wilmington about 11 p.m. Monday and reached speeds as high as 80 miles per hour, Port Police spokesman Phillip Sanfield said.
Port officers were working with the Los Angeles Police Department at a traffic crash near the intersection of Pacific Coast Highway and Alameda Street when the suspect evaded an attempt to keep him from going through the intersection and aimed the vehicle at them, Sanfield said.
The vehicle then sped through the point where South Gaffey dead-ends with Shepard Street, through a locked gate and over a nearby cliff, he said.
Firefighters estimated the vehicle fell 250-300 feet.
The driver, who is in his 30s, was rescued from the vehicle and he was hospitalized with broken bones, Sanfield said.
Sanfield said the suspect will be booked for assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer, with further charges pending in connection with the pursuit.
A port police officer suffered a minor ankle injury dodging the vehicle, Sanfield said.