Passenger in murder suspect's vehicle describes wild pursuit that ended in big rig crash in Pomona
POMONA, Calif. (KABC) -- The woman inside the truck of a fleeing murder suspect shared new details on an hours-long pursuit through four counties that began in Murrieta and came to a crashing end in Pomona.
Several law enforcement vehicles were at the scene the moment the murder suspect crashed a pickup truck and surrendered near the intersection of Holt and San Antonio avenues in Pomona around 7 p.m. A passenger in the truck -- later identified as Roxy Rich from Bakersfield -- was taken into custody, questioned and later released.
Rich, says the chase started around 5:30 p.m. in Temecula. She was surprised to learn the driver, a friend of hers who is also from Bakersfield, was wanted for murder.
"He's an honest man... I don't know him like that, but I know him enough to know he's not a person to murder someone," she said. "He had to have a reason to react to an action."
Chase: Murder suspect crashes into big rig in Pomona, ending dangerous pursuit
The pursuit -- which passed through Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside and San Diego counties -- took a dangerous turn in Pomona. The suspect drove on the wrong side of the road, circled through a neighborhood, passed between police vehicles and then cut through a busy parking lot.
At one point during the chase, the suspect drove onto the sidewalk. The suspect also came close to hitting other cars on the road and ignored red lights to stop.
Footage from AIR7 HD showed that the driver of the tractor-trailer appeared to intentionally block the suspect. The suspect was taken to a hospital to be checked out, while Rich says she refused treatment.
AIR7 HD was over the chase around 6 p.m. as the driver was traveling at high speeds on the 60 Freeway. Prior to reaching Pomona, the suspect was in the east San Gabriel Valley area and driving over 75 mph with multiple officers behind.
During the pursuit, the man could be seen throwing papers out onto the freeway, raising his middle finger to pursuing authorities and taking both of his hands off of the wheel as he drove at high speeds.
City News Service contributed to this report.
