UPDATED 6/3/16 4:44PM
WHITTIER (CNS) – A suspect in a stolen car collided with two vehicles after an officer tried to pull him over for driving on a freeway shoulder. The white Honda Accord was spotted just after 3 p.m. on the shoulder of the northbound San Gabriel River (605) Freeway near Firestone Boulevard and did not yield for an enforcement stop, according to California Highway Patrol Officer Kevin Tao. While giving chase, the officer ran the Honda’s plate number and was told the vehicle had been reported stolen, Tao said.
The suspect exited the freeway at Whittier Boulevard, at which time a female passenger was dropped off. She was quickly detained, but the suspect kept driving on city streets, eventually making his way into the Paramount- Montebello area, driving at times on the wrong side of the road and even onto a sidewalk. Officers backed off as a sheriff’s helicopter continued to monitor the vehicle, Tao said. The Honda was clipped by an armored truck at one point and later collided with a car, but the driver kept going, the officer said. He headed back onto the 605 freeway from Telegraph Road and around 3:30 headed onto canyon roads before getting out of the vehicle and fleeing on foot in the area of Blue Sky and Holly Tree roads in Turnbull Canyon, Tao said. Deputies established a perimeter and were searching for the suspect, who was described as Hispanic and wearing a black shirt and tan pants. It was not immediately clear if anyone was hurt in either of the collisions.
UPDATED 6/3/16 3:54PM
The vehicle in that pursuit has come to a stop on a canyon road in Whittier, and the driver has jumped out of the car.
The CHP began chasing that suspect who is speeding through the Whittier area about 3:05 p.m. in the area of the San Gabriel River (605) and Glenn Anderson (105) freeways, Officer Michelle Bond says. It’s unclear what prompted the pursuit but officers have backed off and are monitoring the vehicle.