Chase suspect driving wrong-way crashes into oncoming traffic on 405 Fwy in Brentwood

ByABC7.com staff, Jaysha Patel, and Rob Hayes KABC logo
Friday, May 17, 2024
Chase ends in wrong-way crash on 405 Freeway
A chase suspect was taken into custody Friday morning after driving into oncoming traffic and crashing into several cars on the 405 Freeway in the Brentwood area.

BRENTWOOD, Calif. (KABC) -- A chase suspect was taken into custody Friday morning after driving into oncoming traffic and crashing into several cars on the 405 Freeway in the Brentwood area.

The chase stemmed from an incident around 4:30 a.m. on 4th Avenue in the Venice area. According to the Los Angeles Police Department, the suspect in a white van rammed into patrol cars, leaving at least two officers with minor injuries.

Officers then initiated the pursuit, which eventually made its way onto the 405 Freeway.

AIR7 HD followed the chase on the freeway as officers tried to perform multiple PIT maneuvers at high speeds without success.

At one point, the driver turned around and started driving the wrong-way on northbound lanes of the freeway with several patrol vehicles close behind.

A chase suspect was taken into custody Friday morning after driving into oncoming traffic and crashing into several cars on the 405 Freeway in the Brentwood area.

The suspect drove erratically and swerved past oncoming traffic. The chase ended when the driver of the white van violently collided head-on into a group of cars that had been stopped by police near Wilshire Boulevard.

The driver crashed into at least three cars and a semi-truck before she climbed out of the van and on top of the semitruck's hood and tried to get inside.

"I just see the headlights coming at us and -- boom -- the collision," said David Hill, who was in one of the vehicles that was hit. "Her car was pinned against mine, and that's when I promptly exited the vehicle to the shoulder just to keep myself safe."

Police quickly closed in on foot and took the suspect into custody.

The driver of the semitruck spoke to reporters at the scene.

"She tried to get into the truck," he said in Spanish, adding that he did not let her in.

None of the innocent drivers who were hit suffered serious injuries, though at least one person involved in the crash was taken to the hospital.

Most northbound lanes were shut down for hours in the aftermath of the chase.

The incident started shortly before 4:30 a.m., when police responded to a radio call of a woman causing a disturbance in the area of Fourth and Rose avenues.

A bystander's video shows the suspect apparently arguing with an unidentified man before she gets into the cargo van and drives away, allegedly ramming two police vehicles and injuring two officers as she flees the scene.

The two officers were treated at a hospital and released.

After entering the 405 Freeway, the suspect reached speeds of more than 80 mph before driving head-on into several vehicles and causing the pileup.