Man sentenced to 2 years in prison for wild chase that ended in Metro tunnel
LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A 27-year-old man was sentenced on Thursday to two years in state prison for leading police on a wild chase that ended in an underground Metro tunnel in Boyle Heights, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office announced.
Rafael Lopez Jr., of Los Angeles, pleaded no contest to three felony counts: fleeing a pursuing peace officer's motor vehicle and driving against traffic; driving or taking a vehicle without consent; and hit-and-run driving resulting in injury to another person.
Metro Gold Line trains were stopped on Feb. 20 after Lopez drove a reported stolen truck into the underground train tunnel.
The dangerous pursuit began when police saw the truck near Gage and Salt Lake avenues in Huntington Park. Officers attempted to pull over the vehicle but Lopez continued driving, prosecutors said. During the chase, Lopez drove at high speeds, ran through red lights, traveled on the wrong side of the road and T-boned a taxi.
Lopez abandoned the truck on the underground tracks, and authorities later found him hiding in a closet inside the tunnel. He was then taken into custody.
