Pursuit takes wild turn as stolen vehicle suspect rams police cars, jumps embankment into oncoming traffic on 91 FWY
A generally calm pursuit took a wild turn Monday evening, when a stolen vehicle suspect originally driving slowly began ramming police vehicles before jumping an embankment onto the 91 Freeway in Corona.
The chase began at around 8:20 p.m. in the La Habra area, according to the La Habra Police Department.
Police say that the stolen vehicle, some sort of work truck that had "Sysco" written on the side, was unreported, meaning it may have been very recently taken, but they did not disclose further details.
The lengthy pursuit continued through Corona and into Norco, with the suspect leading police at a slow pace along surface streets, even using their blinkers when turning and stopping before entering intersections.
At around 9:20 p.m., the suspect turned on the southbound 15 Freeway and continued through Corona after merging on the westbound CA-91.
After exiting the freeway on S. Maple Street, the suspect stopped in the middle of the intersection and backed into a La Habra police cruiser twice before driving away.
The police attempted to block the truck in using their vehicles, but the suspect was able to maneuver their way out of the jam by ramming the cars before speeding forward and slamming into a nearby chainlink fence as officers surrounded with guns drawn.
The suspect was eventually able to make their way through the fence before jumping the truck over an embankment onto westbound lanes of the 91 Freeway, against oncoming traffic, with the chainlink fence dragging behind the vehicle and smoke billowing from the tires.
Traffic could be seen driving around the truck as it drove on the wrong side of the freeway, before finally coming to a stop.
The driver, who appeared to be a woman, jumped out of the car and began running across the entire freeway before ducking under a fence and into the parking lot of a Denny's, located on Maple Street, off the side of the freeway in Corona. They attempted to wave a car down but proved unsuccessful and continued to run towards the restaurant.
While running, the person's shoes, a piece of clothing and a blonde wig appeared to fall off behind her onto the parking lot pavement.
Dozens of law enforcement vehicles could be seen swarming the restaurant, as multiple ran out on foot during the ensuing manhunt, several of which had K9s with them.
Just before 10 p.m., officers could be seen leading the suspect out of the Denny's in handcuffs. They were loaded into the back of a ambulance after being taken into custody.
California Highway Patrol and San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department had their helicopters overhead as the chase continued.
