Woman steals shuttle with elderly cancer patient still inside, leads police in wild chase
VAN NUYS, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A woman stole a health care facility van with a 93-year-old patient inside and fled from police with a door open in a wild and dangerous chase through the San Fernando Valley on Thursday.
The chase eventually ended with the driver surrendering after she tried to turn into a parking lot that had a closed gate and she found herself blocked in by LAPD units.
The incident began around 9:05 a.m. Thursday when the LAPD got a call saying that someone had stolen a transport shuttle with an elderly cancer patient still inside.
The shuttle driver had gotten out of the vehicle to help pick up another rider at a stop when the suspect, a woman who is possibly homeless, jumped inside the driver's seat and started driving with the shuttle's passenger door still open.
The van's side door remained open throughout the pursuit, which made its way through surface streets in the San Fernando Valley.
AIR7HD caught the pursuit as it was unfolding, showing the driver throwing a package of water bottles out the door and doing donuts at an intersection.
The driver of the van pulled over after a short pursuit and was taken into custody by Los Angeles police officers.
The elderly man inside the van was unhurt, but was a bit shaken up. He was on his way to the Golden Age Adult Day Health Center to socialize with other seniors when the shuttle was hijacked.
"My father in law is shooken up. He's 93 years old and he's battling cancer as well, so imagine," said the patient's son-in-law.
The LAPD was able to track the shuttle down because the driver had left his cellphone inside. When officers called it, the woman actually answered.
"We will always remind the public to shut the vehicle off, to lock their doors, to make sure they do that every time that they get out of the vehicle," one officer said.
The identity of the woman and why she stole the shuttle remain unclear.
