Suspect in stolen commercial van leads chase from Torrance to Altadena
LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A suspect in a stolen commercial van led police on a chase from the Torrance area to Altadena Wednesday.
The carpet-cleaning van was reported stolen in the Torrance area. The suspect fled on the 110 north and exited on surface streets in downtown Los Angeles.
The van stopped several times and the suspect appearing to be gesturing with his hands toward police. But each time he then resumed the chase.
At one point he returned to the northbound 110 and the chase continued in relatively light traffic up toward the Pasadena area.
He exited onto surface streets in the Pasadena area and continued fleeing at moderate speeds.
At one point, it appeared an officer tried to perform a PIT maneuver, but was only able to slightly sideswipe the vehicle.
A short time later, it appeared one tire of the van was flat, but the suspect continued fleeing, eventually getting onto the eastbound 210 Freeway.
After a few minutes on the 210, the van slowed down but continued driving at around 10 mph on the side of the freeway as officers followed behind.
At the end, the vehicle ran into several signs on the side of the freeway, knocking them over. The van then hit a guard rail and came to a stop in the Altadena area. It appeared the driver may have lost control of the steering or brakes.
The driver then emerged from the van and complied with orders to lie down on the ground, his hands behind his back.
The chase lasted more than an hour.
