A woman led Southern California law enforcement on a tense, hour-long freeway pursuit this morning after stealing a fully loaded traffic management truck from the Hollywood area, driving it at high speeds across multiple counties before being taken into custody after spike strips shredded her front tires down to the bare rims.
The chase began around 10 a.m. when officers from the Los Angeles Police Department’s Hollywood Division initiated a pursuit after the truck, the kind typically used for roadwork and lane closures and still bearing its traffic warning sign extended on the roof, was reported stolen. The California Highway Patrol took over jurisdiction as the vehicle merged onto the freeways and began making its way north.
A chase that refused to end
By 10:25 a.m., the truck was traveling northbound on the 14 Freeway in the Santa Clarita area at roughly 80 mph, with multiple CHP units trailing behind and aerial news cameras tracking the pursuit from above. CHP Sgt. Dan Keene told reporters that officers planned to continue the chase for as long as necessary to bring it to a safe resolution. He added that if a working radio was inside the truck, officers intended to make contact with the driver and encourage her to pull over.
At one point during the pursuit, a driver in a black sedan slowed down directly in front of the truck, forcing it to briefly stop. As CHP officers began exiting their patrol vehicles to approach, the sedan pulled forward and the work truck suddenly accelerated away, extending the chase further…