LOS ANGELES COUNTY, Calif. – A male suspect driving a stolen patrol unit and leading California Highway Patrol officers in a vehicle pursuit through the Antelope Valley before jumping out of the moving vehicle has died. A video of the police chase by a local news outlet captured the thief driving the stolen CHP car before slowing down and jumping out at around 46 mph, which caused his death.
CHP officers were initially called to reports of a reckless driver on the I-5 freeway near Castaic just before noon on Tuesday. The unnamed suspect then crashed his own Toyota Corolla into another vehicle. When CHP officers arrived to investigate, the suspect jumped into a responding officer’s unit and sped away, FOX 11 Los Angeles reported.
During the 90-minute chase filmed by the news helicopter SkyFOX, one of the stolen cruiser’s tires popped off at around 77 mph after running over police spike strips as it headed eastbound on the 138 Freeway.
Shortly after, the stolen car’s driver side door opened and the suspect leaped out of the vehicle while it was still traveling at about 46 mph. The suspect’s feet hit the road and he immediately slammed backward
During a live broadcast, viewers were able to see the suspect crash to the ground. However, FOX 11 froze the picture frame just before his head smashed into the highway as it was later re-aired. The local reporter said it was simply too graphic to show.
The abandoned CHP unit continued on without a driver and is seen knocking down a utility pole before coming to rest in a ditch on the side of the road.
The suspect was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead, the CHP confirmed. His identity has not yet been released.
“I do not know what happened in this circumstance, but it is standard procedure” for cruisers to be locked when left running in such cases, CHP Officer Alec Pereyda told the news outlet.
Naturally, a major concern would be a suspect accessing firearms inside the vehicles, according to Pereyda.
“Luckily, they did not become unlocked in the patrol vehicle, and he was not able to gain access to those,” Pereyda confirmed.
The CHP is conducting an internal investigation to determine how the deceased suspect was able to drive off with the responding officer’s patrol unit, the New York Post reported.
