Police chase suspect arrested after running into LA River channel in Burbank
The driver of a suspected stolen box truck was taken into custody after disappearing into a tunnel of an L.A. River flood control channel in Burbank Monday morning.
LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- The driver of a suspected stolen box truck who led police on an erratic chase through the Los Angeles area and into the San Fernando Valley was taken into custody after disappearing into a tunnel of an L.A. River flood control channel in Burbank Monday morning.
Los Angeles Police Department officers began following the vehicle at 5:17 a.m., said N. Eisenman of the LAPD's Media Relations division.
AIR7 HD was over the chase around 5:20 a.m. as the suspect drove erratically at times and reached speeds up to 85 mph. The pursuit began in downtown L.A. and followed a circuitous route through Hollywood , Los Feliz and Silver Lake before returning to the downtown area.
The suspect switched from the 101 Freeway to surface streets in downtown L.A., driving near the Los Angeles County Twin Towers Correctional Facility, before moving back on to the freeway.
The chase continued into the San Fernando Valley around 5:45 a.m. as the driver resumed high speeds on the northbound 5 Freeway in the Glendale area.
The suspect drove through a dirt bank and plowed through a chain link fence before swerving onto a residential street, nearly colliding with a sedan before continuing.
The driver bailed out of the truck near the intersection of South Flower Street and West Verdugo Avenue in Burbank, hopped a fence and dropped into a channel of the L.A. River just before 6 a.m.
Officers lost sight of the suspect near a tunnel.
About 20 minutes later, the suspect was seen being taken out of the tunnel and arrested in the channel.
City News Service contributed to this report.
