2 Arrested After Deputy-Involved Shooting, Wild Chase Through East LA
COMMERCE (CBSLA) – Two vandalism suspects were arrested after ramming into a Los Angeles County Sheriff's patrol car, prompting a deputy-involved shooting which turned into a wild pursuit in East Los Angeles early Monday morning that ended in a crash on the 710 Freeway.
The incident began just after 2 a.m. when L.A. County Sheriff's deputies responded to a report of vandalism in the 1400 block of South Sydney Drive in Commerce.
When they arrived on scene, they found the two suspects sitting in a blue Volkswagen. As they prepared to approach them, the Volkswagen sped up and slammed into the driver's side door of their patrol car, the sheriff's department said. One of the deputies was struck by the car and pinned inside the door frame.
At that point, at least one of the deputies opened fire on the suspects. However, neither suspect was injured.
The suspects then lead deputies and California Highway Patrol officers on a pursuit which traversed several freeways. The suspects eventually lost control on the northbound 710 Freeway and crashed into a center divider, just north of Imperial Highway in South Gate.
Two men in their 20s were taken into custody. They were taken to a hospital to be treated for minor injuries. The deputy who was struck by the car was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries, a sheriff's spokesperson told CBS2. The second deputy was not hurt.
CHP shut down the 5 Freeway at Paramount Boulevard for several hours so deputies could search for a gun they believe the suspects may have thrown out of their car during the pursuit. They also closed several lanes of the northbound 710 Freeway just north of Imperial Highway for the crash investigation. Both freeways were fully reopened by 8 a.m.
It's unclear if the suspects fired on deputies during the pursuit.