Reckless driver seen doing donuts in front of police arrested
Glendale Police were in pursuit of the driver of a black Kia Thursday evening. It was later learned that the suspect was having a mental health crisis at the time of the chase.
The suspect was described as a man wearing a baseball cap, who was first spotted by officers doing donuts in the intersection of Western and San Fernando, prompting the pursuit.
A few minutes into the chase, the suspect again started spinning the vehicle, doing donuts after officers met up with the vehicle in another intersection.
After a short while, Glendale police decided to drop the pursuit and track the driver due to public safety concerns.
As the suspect continued to drive in a bizarre fashion, despite not being pursued by officers, they could be seen flashing their blinkers, hazards and a unique light kit equipped with strobe lights. They often drove on the wrong side of the road, swerved around uninvolved traffic and goaded other drivers in the area.
They were in tracking for some time before California Highway Patrol officers engaged in pursuit of the suspect at around 10 p.m.
Just after the pursuit restarted, the suspect clipped an uninvolved vehicle before speeding off from the scene when they then briefly entered SR-60 before erratically crossing all lanes of the roadway to entire Highway 101.
At around 10:15 p.m., the suspect reentered surface streets in Leimert Park, where they stopped at an intersection and rolled their window down to perform some sort of taunt towards officers before taking off again.
Authorities were given permission to attempt a PIT maneuver at around 10:20 p.m., and though several failed attempts were unable to stop the vehicle, the rear bumper of the suspect's KIA Stinger was partially ripped off and could be seen hanging on by a thread as the chase continued.
As all of this was occurring, CHP officers were in contact with the suspect's family, whom they claimed was in the midst of some sort of mental crisis, and that they did not believe he was armed.
The suspect continued their reckless driving before returning to an area believed to be in the vicinity of their residence, where officers were waiting.
He exited the vehicle at around 10:45 p.m., when he was promptly taken into custody.
Suspect arrested out front of residence
Officers were waiting out front of the suspect's residence on 52nd Street near Avalon in South L.A.
As the suspect pulled up to their home and exited the vehicle, they were quickly taken into custody by waiting officers.
CHP learns suspect in midst of mental health crisis, reportedly unarmed
California Highway Patrol officers have reportedly spoken with the family of the suspect, whom they claim is reportedly in the midst of a mental health crisis.
They also clarified that they do not believe the person behind the wheel is armed.
CHP officers reengage pursuit
As the suspect continued their brazen driving through surface streets, CHP officers reengaged the pursuit just after 10:30 p.m.
Immediately after, the vehicle could be seen driving on the wrong side of the road before speeding away from pursuing officers.
CHP ordered to stand down
California Highway Patrol officers were ordered to stand down from pursuit just before 10:20 p.m., due to the reckless nature of the chase and the danger presented to the officers and the public.
The CHP fixed wing aircraft, however, continued to track the suspect.
Officer rips bumper off suspect's vehicle
As California Highway Patrol officers continued pursuit of the reckless driving suspect, a second failed PIT maneuver ripped the rear bumper off of the vehicle.
It could be seen dangling from the vehicle, barely hanging on as the pursuit continued after more than 45 minutes.
Pursuit reenters surface streets; suspect stops to signal out of window
At around 10:10 p.m., the suspect reentered surface streets where they promptly stopped at an intersection to signal something out of the window to taunt the pursuing officers.
Seconds later authorities attempted an unsuccessful PIT maneuver, with the suspect speeding away.
Pursuit heads onto freeways
At around 10:05 p.m., the suspect began driving on SR-60, with multiple CHP patrol vehicles continuing the chase.
They then erratically crossed the lanes of the freeway to enter Highway 101.
With Sky9 overhead, the vehicle's hazard lights could be seen flashing sporadically. The suspect also continued to use blinkers at random.
Suspect crashes into uninvolved vehicle
The suspect clipped the front end of an uninvolved vehicle on E, 1st Street in Boyle Heights at around 10 p.m., before continuing to drive away from CHP officers in pursuit.
Officers initiate pursuit
At around 9:55 p.m., CHP officers initiated pursuit of the vehicle on Van Pelt Avenue.
The pursuit continued at fairly slow speeds, even stopping at stop signs in the area before continuing to drive erratically through surface streets.
Continuing coverage: CHP ground units en route
As the suspect continues to drive erratically throughout surface streets in the South Gate-East Los Angeles area, swerving in and out of other traffic, performing donuts around intersections and toying with other drivers - California Highway Patrol ground units are said to be en route to handle the situation.
Watch Live: Driver continues doing donuts
The driver of the black Kia is driving erratically, doing donuts. The vehicle is equipped with some sort of light kit and his headlights are flashing strobe lights periodically.
Right now, authorities are tracking the suspect from the air. Ground units have pulled back out of public safety concerns.