U-Haul filled with marijuana crashes into SoCal police station gate; shooting investigation underway

Jaysha Patel Image
Saturday, October 28, 2023
U-Haul filled with marijuana crashes into SoCal police station gate
Two people were arrested after a U-Haul truck filled with bags of marijuana crashed into the gates of the police and fire station in Sierra Madre, and police are now investigating a previous car crash and the driver's claim that he was shot.

Editor's note: ABC7's first report on this story showed a man seated on a curb with his hands behind his back while being detained by police. In social media posts, ABC7 indicated that man was the driver of the U-Haul. That was incorrect. The man was driving a BMW that was sideswiped by the U-Haul. He gave police an accident report, and he was briefly detained as police gathered information about the incident. Police determined the man seated on the curb was not the driver of the U-Haul or a shooting suspect, and he was released.

TEMPLE CITY, Calif. (KABC) -- Two people were arrested after a U-Haul truck filled with bags of marijuana crashed into the gates of the police and fire station in Sierra Madre, and police are now investigating a previous car crash and the driver's claim that he was shot.

The chain of events unfolded overnight. According to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, the driver reported that he was shot somewhere in the Temple City area before driving over to Sierra Madre, where the apparent crash happened.

Investigators are trying to determine if and how the shooting happened. The U-Haul driver had an unspecified wound to his arm, authorities said.

At one point during the night, police say the U-Haul driver sideswiped a BMW and did not stop. The BMW driver followed him to the police station and reported the incident.

The U-Haul driver and a passenger were arrested for possession of narcotics. The driver was taken to the hospital for treatment and on Friday morning was being questioned at the sheriff's station in Temple City.

The U-Haul truck was also moved to the station for the ongoing investigation. It's unclear how much marijuana was inside.

Additional details were not available.