A pursuit suspect whose car was nearly disabled and surrounded by law enforcement with guns drawn was able to drive away and lead a second chase that featured wrong-way driving and several PIT maneuver attempts.
The suspect was reportedly in a stolen car and drove the wrong way on a busy Orange County freeway and on several streets in southern Los Angeles County during an erratic chase that began south of downtown Los Angeles.
Details about the car theft were not immediately available. Downey police confirmed the car was stolen Friday morning in a possible carjacking.
The Honda Civic sedan driver was on Interstate 5 south of downtown Los Angeles before exiting onto streets in Bell Gardens. The chase continued back on the 5 Freeway and into Orange County.
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The chase took a stunning twist when the driver made a U-turn and went the wrong way on the 5 Freeway, continuing north for several miles in southbound lanes. Law enforcement officers stopped traffic in the Buena Park area, where the driver pulled over on the side of the freeway.
The driver eventually continued on the freeway and exited onto Beach Boulevard, where officers used a PIT maneuver to spin the car. The driver reversed and continued into Fullerton, Buena Park and La Mirada before heading back into southern Los Angeles County.
The driver again traveled on the wrong side of several streets in the Santa Fe Springs area, nearly colliding head-on with at least one car before almost slamming into the side of a pickup at an intersection.
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At least two spikes strips were deployed, possibly damaging a tire. The car slowed to a crawl on a Cerritos street, where the driver went over a curb and onto a sidewalk to get around a parked pickup.
The driver came to a stop near Bloomfield Avenue and Del Amo Boulevard after three more PIT maneuver attempts. A standoff ensued with officers, who appear to have the car blocked.
At one point the driver exited his vehicle, but didn't appear to intend to surrender. Officers appeared to fire non-lethal rounds at the driver, then a police K9 attempted to bring him down but was unsuccessful The driver got back into his car and maneuvered a multi-point turn and drove away from the standoff. He had multiple flat tires and pieces of the car were falling off.
During the second pursuit, officers attempted multiple PIT maneuvers and the driver crossed the median into oncoming traffic at least once.
Officers eventually pinned the suspect against a curb and he surrendered a few minutes later. He was taken to an area hospital with unknown injuries, according to police.
This story will be updated as new information becomes available.
