More than one police chase has ended when the fleeing suspect ran out of gas. Some are especially short-lived—like when a would-be thief steals a car with an empty tank. But last weekend, a Los Angeles car thief went the extra mile: he refueled mid-chase and slipped away for good.
This story starts when a dark-blue Infiniti Q50 sedan was reported stolen. At 10 p.m. Friday, police spotted the car and pursued it in Wilshire, California. The suspect weaved in and out of traffic, ratcheting the speed up to 100 mph in the V‑6, rear-wheel-drive sedan to stay ahead of officers.
Cautious about causing a crash, patrol cars pulled back, but the AIR7 helicopter stayed with the Infiniti. That’s when the suspect pulled into a Shell station at Imperial Highway and Long Beach Boulevard in Lynwood, California. He looked directly at the chopper, covered his face, pumped gas—and drove off…