A stolen Nissan sedan led Los Angeles police officers on a chase through Downtown streets and onto the San Diego (405) Freeway before it ended in the Mid-City area, with four people taken into custody. Officers said an object believed to be a handgun was thrown from the vehicle while it was still on the freeway, adding a tense wrinkle to what began as a routine stolen-vehicle stop attempt.
According to MyNewsLA.com, the pursuit began near Pico Boulevard and San Pedro Street in Downtown Los Angeles after officers attempted to stop the driver of an older-model Nissan sedan that a LAPD spokesperson said was allegedly stolen. The driver instead attempted to evade police, and the chase shifted onto the 405 Freeway before eventually ending on Redondo Boulevard between 21st Street and Bangor Street in Mid-City, per police.
Video from the scene showed the Nissan being pursued by multiple police vehicles as it wove through West Los Angeles freeways and surface streets. At one point, two suspects attempted to flee on foot on the 405 Freeway before Washington Boulevard, LAPD said, and both were apprehended shortly after. Footage from the scene also showed one woman being taken into custody as the pursuit wound down. In total, four people led officers on the multi-freeway chase and were ultimately taken into custody.
An Object Believed to Be a Weapon
Investigators have not said whether the item thrown from the Nissan on the 405 was recovered, and it remains unclear what charges, if any, prosecutors will file over the alleged weapon. If the object turns out to be a dangerous item tossed with intent to cause harm, California law offers prosecutors an additional charging option: under Vehicle Code Section 23110, throwing an object at a vehicle or onto a highway is ordinarily a misdemeanor, but maliciously throwing a dangerous object capable of inflicting serious injury is a felony punishable by up to three years in state prison…