Driver of stolen work truck leads police on prolonged chase through San Fernando Valley
NORTHRIDGE, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- The driver of a reportedly stolen work truck was leading police on a chase through the San Fernando Valley on Wednesday morning.
The chase made its way from Northridge to to Canoga Park shortly after 7:30 a.m., following a hit-and-run crash that occurred about 10 minutes earlier in Chatsworth, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
The male suspect was behind the wheel of a white concrete-pumping pickup truck with a small trailer behind it. The name of the commercial company that owns the truck was visible on the doors.
At one point, about a half-dozen Los Angeles Police Department patrol vehicles were chasing the vehicle on the ground while an LAPD helicopter followed overhead. The police cars later backed off and went into "tracking mode."
Officers attempted to disable the pickup truck several times with a spike strip but were initially unsuccessful. Shortly before 9 a.m., a spike strip apparently flattened the truck's right front tire as the vehicle moved through a road-work area. The tire later fell off and the metal wheel was dragging along on the roadway.
Shortly before 10:30 a.m., driver stopped the vehicle in the middle of a street in Canoga Park and brief standoff with police ensued.
As officers pointed their guns at the suspect, he exited the truck with his hands on his head, walked out in front of it and lay down on ground. The officers then approached him and took him into custody without incident.
