Los Angeles, CA : Man dies in crash while driving stolen South Pasadena patrol car on Thursday September 27 2016
A man who carjacked a South Pasadena police officer died Thursday when the stolen patrol car he was driving crashed into a tree at a freeway transition road in Los Angeles.
Paramedics pronounced the suspect dead at the scene. The coroner’s office did not identified the man.
The officer suffered a minor ankle injury after being dragged several feet while holding onto the car, according to South Pasadena Police Sgt. Shannon Robledo. He was treated at a hospital and released.
The officer was driving back to South Pasadena in the early morning after dropping off a suspect at UCLA on Thursday — Robledo said the officer arrested the driver earlier when it turned out the man had a warrant and was wanted by UC Police — when the incident happened.
“As the officer was transitioning from the eastbound 10 freeway to the northbound 110 freeway, the officer saw what appeared to be a disabled school bus stopped in the island between the merging traffic lanes,” Sgt. Tony Abdalla said in a statement.
The officer stopped to lend a hand. The bus driver told the officer about finding a motorcycle lying in the road. Abdalla said the bus driver pulled the motorcycle out of traffic, but was unable to find the rider.
The officer searched the brush along the freeway shoulder but didn’t find the motorcyclist. As the officer was talking to the bus driver, Abdalla said the officer spotted a man walking towards the police car and thought the man was the motorcyclist looking for help.
The man climbed into the patrol car via the open window on the passenger side. Abdalla said the officer ran to the car and tried to disable it.
“A struggle between the officer and suspect for control of the vehicle resulted, but the suspect was able to drive off with the officer being momentarily dragged by the vehicle,” Abdalla said.
The officer called police dispatch. South Pasadena and other law enforcement agencies searched for the stolen patrol car.
A caller reported the disabled motorcycle to the California Highway Patrol at 3:12 a.m. CHP Officer Chris Baldonado said about 15 minutes after that call, the CHP got numerous calls about the crashed police car.
Baldonado said it appeared the patrol car went on the northbound 110 freeway and took the transition road to the southbound 101 freeway.
“He failed to negotiate the turn, collided with a curb and collided with a tree,” Baldonado said.
South Pasadena police and CHP officers found the suspect dead in the driver seat. The AR-15 rifle in the patrol car remained in its rack, according to police. Authorities said there’s no indication the suspect tried to remove the weapon.
Police don’t know if the suspect was the rider of the motorcycle or why he took the patrol car.
The solo crash shut down the northbound 110 Freeway transition to the southbound 101 Freeway. CHP Officer Alex Rubio said a SigAlert was issued at 3:45 a.m. that concluded at 7:11 a.m.
Source :
Man dies in crash while driving stolen South Pasadena patrol car