Chase suspect evades police in stolen Penske truck in Van Nuys

VAN NUYS, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A suspect driving a reportedly stolen rental truck led police on a chase in Van Nuys before being taken into custody on Tuesday.

It all started when police received a report about a suicidal man attempting to cut himself. The suspect then stole a Penske truck in the 8100 block of Langdon Avenue around 7:25 a.m., initiating a pursuit, police said.

Investigators believe the suspect may have stolen the car, possibly after seeing the end result of the chase in Long Beach, where the driver was fatally shot by police earlier Tuesday morning.

The suspect briefly drove the truck onto the 405 Freeway but exited to surface streets.

Police successfully deployed a spike strip near Woodley Avenue and Sherman Way around 8:25 a.m.

A short time later, the suspect, dressed in a bright orange shirt, exited the Penske truck and appeared to attempt to carjack another nearby truck on Woodley Avenue, south of Parthenia Street.

The driver of the nearby truck told Eyewitness News when the suspect tried to carjack him, he locked his doors and waited for police.

"He first tried to open the handle and since I had it locked, he tried breaking the window," Francisco Juarez said. "The guy got close to me and he almost hit me, so I had to stop and that's when that incident happened."

He said he is glad officers responded quickly to go after the suspect.

Following the carjacking attempt, police officers surrounded the suspect and appeared to use their Tasers before taking him into custody.