The owner of a stolen truck and crash victims recount the frightening moments when a pursuit driver collided multiple times before being arrested in Long Beach. As seen on the NBC4 News on March 28, 2025.
A wrong-way driver in a stolen flatbed truck slammed into several cars on a Long Beach street before a crash outside a business that brought the high-speed rampage to an end.
The chase began near USC in Exposition Park south of downtown Los Angeles after the owner said a man took his truck while he was delivering car parts to a body shop.
"Some guy said, hey, somebody's taking the truck," said Richard Colindres, owner of the stolen vehicle.
Colindres was able to track the vehicle with his phone, which was inside the truck.
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At one point, the driver hopped a curb and drove onto a sidewalk to avoid cars stopped at an intersection in Pico Rivera. The truck appeared to scrape a fence before nearly striking a bus at the intersection.
The driver then entered the 605 Freeway in Whittier and went the wrong way on several streets in the community southeast of downtown Los Angeles before returning to the freeway.
The driver remained on the freeway through Santa Fe Springs, Norwalk and other communities in southern Los Angeles County.
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In Long Beach, a harrowing chain of events unfolded on Seventh Street when the driver plowed through cars stopped at an intersection and struck several other vehicles before crashing in front of a Sherwin-Williams Paint Store on Termino Avenue. The driver casually walked from the damaged truck, but was taken into custody a few blocks away.
One driver whose car was struck described the frightening moment when he was hit by the speeding truck.
"This guy is unreal. I'm about to die, or something's about to blow up," said Clarence Taylor, who was on his way from the Veterans Affairs Long Beach Health Care center. "The seat belt kept me in.
"He just ran into the side, and he kept going. I thought his brakes weren't working or something. It was just really violent."
Taylor said his vehicle ended up under a cement truck.
At least nine cars were involved in about four separate crashes near the end of the pursuit, leaving a trail of shattered glass and other debris on Seventh Street for blocks.
At least three people were taken to a hospital to be treated for injuries following the spree of collisions along Seventh Street.
