An incident earlier this week left California police on edge as a woman reportedly led officers on a lengthy and wild chase. The chase started in San Juan Capistrano, a city situated to the south of Los Angeles after the California Highway Patrol had pulled over the woman’s dark red SUV for a welfare check.
Woman Allegedly Leads Lengthy California Police Chase After Spike Strip Shreds Tires https://t.co/1yUK57QvGd pic.twitter.com/eAQT581M0r
— Nevada RLC (@NevadaRLC) June 7, 2023
Instead of complying with the officers’ instructions, she abruptly accelerated and fled onto the 5 Freeway. As the pursuit unfolded, spanning across Orange and Los Angeles counties, law enforcement officials followed relentlessly as the unidentified woman seemed unwavering in her refusal to yield to the officers’ commands.
During the chase, authorities confirmed the driver was a female driver as they say she remained on the phone.
In an attempt to bring the pursuit to an end, officers threw a spike strip on the road, causing the SUV’s front tires to shred. But that didn’t stop the woman. Despite having her front tires completely shredded by the strip, she continued to drive on her rims. Footage of the incident showed sparks flying from the compromised vehicle as the woman attempted to keep going.
However, her speed was impacted, giving officers room to maneuver the SUV and effectively bring it to a halt along Highway 5 in Sylmar, a neighborhood in Los Angeles County.
The ordeal didn’t end there. Upon being stopped, the woman reportedly refused to exit the vehicle, causing officers to resort to the use of pepper balls as a means to subdue her.
Using the pepper balls, they were able to approach the vehicle, pull her out and place her under arrest, as reported by KTLA. In the process, both windows on the passenger side of the car were broken.
As of the time of this reporting, the motive behind her actions remains a subject of investigation by the authorities.