Police chase with 3 children in stolen vehicle ends in violent crash on PCH
MALIBU, Calif. (KABC) -- A police chase with a carjacking suspect accused of stealing a vehicle with three kids inside ended in a violent crash on the Pacific Coast Highway near Malibu on Friday evening.
The terrifying collision sent the three young children -- all believed to be under 10 years old -- and two adults to the hospital.
The chase began when the car was stolen in East Los Angeles shortly before 7 p.m. The suspect led California Highway Patrol (CHP) officers across town to Santa Monica, where he got on the PCH.
CHP quickly ruled out a pit maneuver in the chase, taking the children's safety into consideration. With a pit maneuver ruled out, Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies deployed a spike strip, and the driver hit it.
Before the suspect hit the spike strip, he led a mostly slow chase. But after that, the suspect picked up his speed and started driving more erratically.
Around 7:35 p.m., the chase ended in a major crash near Kanan Dume Road when the suspect ran a red light and slammed into an unsuspecting driver making a left turn onto PCH, sparking a multi-vehicle crash.
As soon as the vehicle stopped, the suspect took off on foot, running up an embankment and into a field.
The suspect continued through wooded terrain, hopping through a few backyards and climbing over a barbed-wire fence.
"And then I saw both cars coming to me and crashing into me," said Erica Trujillo, whose car was damaged in the crash.
Trujillo and her sister, who didn't want to appear on camera, were at the stoplight, waiting to turn off PCH, when the pursuit approached.
The violent crash happened right in front of them.
"I braced for impact, and my sister was in the car behind me, and I was just hoping they didn't push me far back enough to hit her car," Trujillo said.
The front of Trujillo's SUV was damaged, but she wasn't hurt. She and her sister wisely stayed inside their cars after the crash as the suspect got out and ran.
"I did see him get out. I saw him get out and run," Trujillo said. "We didn't know anyone else was in the car."
Back at the crash scene, officers were seen helping two older children and one small child in a car seat out of the vehicle. They all appeared to be conscious and breathing, and they were all taken to the hospital.
Witnesses say the car that was T-boned was driven by an older woman. There was also a passenger in her vehicle. They were both rushed to the hospital.
No further details about their conditions or the conditions of the three children were immediately available.
With officers on his tail, the suspect apparently tried to carjack someone else.
"And the guy came out of nowhere, and came up to the front of my car, came up to my car, opened up my car door, and that's when I hit the gas," Justin Leitstein said.
Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies took the shirtless and shoeless suspect into custody in a nearby Malibu neighborhood by 7:50 p.m.
