Two California Highway Patrol officers made a sedan sandwich out of a stolen Audi Tuesday in a pursuit that covered parts of Orange and Los Angeles counties before ending with a spinout on a freeway entrance ramp.
The driver, later identified by authorities as 34-year-old Christian Chiles of Anaheim, made several wild U-turns and traveled at high speeds on neighborhood streets in a chase that began in Santa Ana and stretched into southern Los Angeles County.
At one point after exiting a parking lot, the silver sedan was sandwiched between two CHP SUVs. Its passenger- and driver-side doors were damaged and the rear bumper was left dangling, but the driver continued to elude authorities.
The chase began after a report of a possibly stolen vehicle, a car with paper dealer plates.
A passenger jumped out of the car on a street in Santa Ana. It was not immediately clear whether that individual is in custody.
The pursuit continued through northern Orange County on the 405 Freeway. Traffic began building as the driver entered southern Los Angeles County, so the driver swerved across multiple traffic lanes on the freeway and used the shoulder to get around slow-moving vehicles.
The car bounced over a median after exiting the 605 Freeway at Florence Avenue and crashed over a center-divider on a street in an industrial area.
Police Chases
Video from Southern California's police pursuits and follow-ups on what happened after the chase
After a CHP officer in a SUV caused the car to spin on a freeway ramp in Bellflower by executing a pursuit intervention maneuver, the driver remained in the car for several minutes and appeared to be smoking something. He eventually surrendered and was taken into custody.
