A Tuesday evening in the Los Angeles area turned into one of the more alarming vehicle incidents in recent memory, and it started well before any police chase was underway. Authorities say the chain of events began when Juan Luis Estrada, 45, of Perris, California, carjacked a white Toyota at knifepoint in downtown Los Angeles.
From there, things deteriorated quickly and steadily across multiple cities before law enforcement was even in the picture.
About an hour after the carjacking, just before 7 p.m., Estrada allegedly drove the stolen vehicle into four pedestrians near Centinela Avenue and Washington Boulevard in Culver City, then fled. That hit-and-run triggered a wave of 911 calls, and witnesses at the scene did exactly what they should: they took down the license plate…