Police believe a man leading authorities on a high-speed chase through the San Fernando Valley ditched the first car and jumped into a pickup truck Wednesday, kicking off another pursuit that ended in a crash in North Hollywood.
The second chase began at about 9:30 p.m. in the area of the Hollywood (101) Freeway near the Ventura (134) Freeway, where officers were in pursuit of a suspected stolen vehicle, according to Officer Drake Madison of the Los Angeles Police Department's Media Relations Division.
Police with the LAPD Metro Division believe the driver may have abandoned the vehicle from the first chase under an overpass near Burbank Airport. The driver may have jumped into that second vehicle, the truck, under the overpass, out of sight from authorities, eventually kicking off another high-speed chase that lasted for almost an hour and a half.
There was a passenger riding with the driver in the truck, but police didn't know at first whether he was a victim of a carjacking or an accomplice.
The chase continued at speeds that reached upwards of 100 mph through surface streets and multiple freeways in the Valley. The truck narrowly missed pedestrians and blew through red lights.
It ended at around 10:50 p.m. when the truck spun out of control and crashed into a gas station in North Hollywood. The passenger fled, but was soon taken into custody, along with the driver, police said.
Authorities discovered narcotics inside the truck. According to police, the driver was supposed to hand off the truck to someone at the gas station, but he lost control of the vehicle and crashed.
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The two men, who have yet to be identified, were taken to the LAPD station in North Hollywood.
Police were working to confirm the connection between the two men, but it is believed they were accomplices.
No one was injured in the chase or crash.
City News Service and NBC4's Jason Kandel contributed to this report.
