A woman driving a van and being chased by Los Angeles Police Department officers on the San Diego (405) Freeway in the opposite direction crashed into several vehicles Friday during a dangerous and violent pursuit.
The chase began when officers were sent to Fourth and Rose avenues in the Venice area about 4:20 a.m. on a report of a disturbance, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
“They attempted to make contact and she turned around and rammed her vehicle into the officers' vehicles,” Lt. Michael Goldberg with LAPD West Traffic said. “At that time, injuries were occurred. Officers declared their situation and additional officers assisted.”
He added that the suspect “aggressively” ran into the police cars two more times.
Police deployed multiple PIT maneuvers by police caused damaged the van but did not stop the suspect, who turned in circles before driving the wrong way onto the northbound freeway multiple times, speeding away at nearly 100 mph with smoke coming from under the hood.
The van then slammed directly into multiple cars and a big rig at a high speed and stopped near the Wilshire Boulevard exit. The woman got out of the van and climbed onto the hood of a stopped big rig, where she could be seen with blood on her face. Officers then took her into custody.
David Hill was involved in the collision recalled the moment he saw the van coming toward him and the other cars to KNX News’ Jon Baird
“We came to a complete stop and then out of nowhere, I see headlights in front of us,” he said. “The van [was] coming at us, hits the car in front of me, and then collides into my car and came to a stop. Her driver door was right next to my driver door. It was terrifying. I immediately exited my vehicle as I did not know what this person was being chased for what they were, what their mindset was, what they were to do, what they were going to do if they got out of the car. So my main concern was just getting out and keeping myself safe.”
He said he saw the suspect jump out of the car.
“She jumped out of the vehicle and then got onto the hood of the semi-truck that's next to my car and was just kind of muttering and yelling nonsense,” he said.”And then from that point, the police apprehended on the other side of the vehicle that I was not able to see.”
He called the crash “the most startling thing I could’ve have imagined this morning.”
The driver of the big rig told Baird the woman she wanted help from him.
“I see the lady in the front [saying], ‘I need help!’ he said, adding that he locked his door and waited for police to arrest him.
Ryan Donovan told L.A.’s Morning News he was almost hit by the suspect.
“I'm literally right behind where the cop had sectioned us off and I see the two headlights coming and I know car speed and I see it coming fast and without even thinking, I just turned my steering wheel and went towards the shoulder,” he said. “And I watched as her car…she had to be going at least 50 miles an hour, 55 miles an hour, and just right into the line of cars where I was. Exactly where I was sitting. I just watched her crash right in and I heard the sound of the crash and…the shock just… it filled my body with fear and I just kept driving like I just started to drive away.”
Dennis Zine, a former city council member and an LAPD reserve officer, told L.A.’s Morning News he’s never seen anything like this.
“I'm still active with the department and seeing this type of situation and I worked West L.A. for a number of years. Never have I seen anything to this degree,” he said. “But the individual in the van…we noticed the license plate is not a California plate. So I don't know where the individual is from or if the van was stolen or not. But the fact of the matter is since no one is seriously injured, at least we believe at this time, and thank God no one has been killed. But this is absolutely the most bizarre pursuit and to slam into cars like that reminds me when you're at a bowling alley and you take that ball and go down that lane and see what it hits.”
Los Angeles Fire Department personnel sent to the scene took one person to a hospital in unknown condition, the LAFD reported.
Venice landlord Matt Shaw told KNX News' Karen Adams he believes the woman was a car camper living in the area. Although the woman’s name has not been publicly released, Councilmember Traci Park told KNX News’ Craig Feiegener she knows who the woman is and that her staffers have tried to get the woman help, but that the woman refused multiple times.
Traffic lanes were blocked in the area, and the investigation was continuing after daybreak. The entire freeway was reopened around 9:30 a.m.
Follow KNX News 97.1 FM
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok