The female driver of a Chevrolet Avalanche led officers on a pursuit on the northbound 405 Freeway through Carson. The pursuit began in Fountain Valley in Orange County.
WATCH raw video from AIR7 HD of the end of the pursuit here
The suspect was wanted for failure to yield.
After driving in the freeway's carpool lane, the woman swerved across the freeway in West Los Angeles and stopped briefly on the shoulder of the Sepulveda Boulevard offramp. The pursuit appeared to be over, but when the light turned green and cars began to move again, the woman turned back into traffic, plowing into the side of a white Prius that was blocking her path and pushing it aside.
The woman then crashed into a fence and took out a power pole, before side-swiping another vehicle exiting the offramp.
When she turned right, heading south on Sepulveda Blvd., an officer attempted to stop the vehicle using a PIT maneuver, but the woman continued driving into Culver City. She eventually turned onto a residential street and police cruisers quickly pulled up behind her vehicle when she came to a stop near the intersection of Tuller Avenue and Culver Boulevard.
The woman got out her vehicle and pointed at officers, as if she was simulating pointing a gun. She then fell to the ground and laid on the concrete for a few seconds, before getting up and attempting to get back into the vehicle. Officers rushed to the SUV truck, dragged her out of the vehicle by her hair and pulled her to the ground before she could drive away. A struggle ensued but officers were finally able to restrain the woman.
The driver was transported to the hospital for evaluation after being taken into custody.
The Fountain Valley Police Department said officers responded to a call of suspicious circumstances at 17330 Brookhurst in Fountain Valley at about 2:50 p.m. Monday. The caller said a woman was acting bizarrely and had a hose sticking out of her vehicle.
Responding officers observed the female driver in the Avalanche leaving the location southbound on Brookhurst. Officers attempted to pull the vehicle over but the driver failed to yield. The woman drove onto the northbound 405 Freeway. Police gave pursuit fearing for the safety of the woman and bystanders.
"I don't know what her intentions were. We just knew that her behavior was unusual," said Fountain Valley Police Capt. Mike Simko.
California Highway Patrol officers took over the pursuit. The CHP was handling reports of traffic collisions that occurred during the pursuit.
