Police chase: Reckless driver flees authorities from San Fernando Valley to South Bay

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Authorities pursued an erratic, reckless driver over surface streets and freeways through the San Fernando Valley and into the South Bay on Tuesday.

The driver in a Ford Fiesta weaved in and out of traffic, dodged oncoming cars in the wrong lane and at one point exceeded 100 mph over the 405 freeway in the attempt to escape police.

Police believed the driver may have been intoxicated.

At one point, officers backed off from the chase, then approached when the vehicle stopped in surface street traffic. At that point, the car then took off, swerving into oncoming traffic to escape.

A reckless driver fleeing police sideswiped another vehicle and weaved through traffic on the 405 Freeway in the West Los Angeles area.

The chase continued at high speeds south on the 405 well into the West Los Angeles area and then exited the freeway in the Inglewood area.

At one point, the driver pulled into a parking spot at a shopping center, but then took off again as officers approached. The car returned to the freeways and was later heading south on the 110 into the South Bay.

The driver continued heading south, then exited the 110 near its end in San Pedro and turned back to the northbound side.

After the driver exited into the Torrance area, ground units again pulled back from the chase and fell into tracking mode. Heavy cloud cover over the area made it difficult for news and law enforcement choppers to track the suspect.

Officers later arrested that driver at a residence in Rancho Palos Verdes.

A driver weaved through oncoming traffic and into an intersection in an attempt to evade police during a chase through the San Fernando Valley that later headed south into Los Angeles.