This GTA-esque pursuit also included driving through a fence and saw the suspect run across the freeway
1 hour ago
Police say that a 26-year-old woman led them on a lengthy and violent chase Monday night. The pursuit spanned multiple counties including La Habra, Orange, San Bernadino, and Riverside. It only ended after the suspect rammed police vehicles, broke through a fence, drove down an embankment into oncoming freeway traffic, and then fled on foot to hide inside a Denny’s restaurant.
According to authorities, the young woman stole a heavy-duty work truck in La Habra. Local news station ABC 7’s AIR7 helicopter caught up with the chase soon after it began and followed it for over 75 minutes. For just over 30 minutes, the pursuit isn’t what you’d call particularly noteworthy. Speeds aren’t particularly high and the driver obeys many traffic laws.
Things take a quick turn though as the driver exits the freeway and then stops. They then put the truck in reverse and rammed the pursuing police officer’s car multiple times. The collisions happened at very low speeds though so damage appeared to be minimal and the cars were able to continue the pursuit.
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Read: What Do You Think Caused This Weird Freeway Crash?
That pursuit led almost immediately into a dead end where three police cars attempted to surround the suspect. That didn’t work either though as the driver simply pushed a police cruiser out of the way before driving through a fence to escape. One officer appears to total his own vehicle in an attempt to knock a tree down onto the fleeing truck.
The suspect then drove down an embankment into oncoming traffic on the 91 freeway. That successfully put distance between themselves and the officers but the truck didn’t make it much further. At that point, video shows the suspect get out of the truck, run across the freeway, and finally into a Denny’s where police would later arrest them.
Police say that the woman was already on parole for burglary but is now facing charges of assault with a deadly weapon against officers, possession of stolen property, and evading.