A man was arrested after allegedly stealing a car with three children inside and driving away, prompting a dramatic police chase captured on video.
According to a news release from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD), officers responded to an assault with a deadly weapon call involving a pedestrian struck by a car at a convenience store in East Los Angeles around 6:40 p.m. local time on Friday, Aug. 29.
When officers arrived on the scene, they discovered that the suspect had entered a Chrysler vehicle with three children inside, ages two, six, and eight, according to police. The mother, who had driven the car, left the engine running while she went to the store.
The children’s father was parked next to the Chrysler and tried to stop the suspect from driving away with his children inside, but was injured in the process, according to LASD. The car then drove west on Olympic Boulevard.
“The father attempted to intervene and was dragged by the stolen vehicle a short distance before falling to the ground, sustaining injuries to his upper body,” the Sheriff’s Office stated.
Officers from LASD’s East Los Angeles division found the suspect and his car and attempted to stop him, but he fled. Officers pursued him “along several roadways and interstate-10,” and the police chase finally ended in Malibu after a “traffic collision involving four other vehicles.”
“The suspect abandoned the vehicle and fled on foot, up a steep embankment and into a residential area, where he was apprehended by [California Highway Patrol] officers,” the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Office said.
Erica Trujillo, who told local news outlet KABC that the crash occurred in front of her, stated that she “braced for impact” before seeing the suspect “get out of the car” and “run.”
LASD stated that the three children in the Chrysler “sustained non-life-threatening injuries and were transported to a hospital for observation.” Authorities also reported that a woman was injured in the crash and taken to the hospital.
The “male Asian adult” suspect was “transported to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.”
LASD stated that the suspect’s “identity will be confirmed once the booking process is complete,” and that the man sustained injuries “possibly from the collision or during his attempt to avoid apprehension climbing through the mountainous residential area.”.
The suspect’s formal charges are pending “as the booking process is completed,” according to LASD.
