Only On 2: Rideshare Driver Relates Story Of Being Unwilling Participant In Chase, Officer-Involved Shooting
BURBANK (CBSLA) -- The sound of gunfire was captured on cellphone video Friday at the end of a wild chase that saw the armed suspect crash into a Buick Enclave.
A rideshare driver named Dante Horton was driving that SUV and he related his frightening story to CBS2's Jeff Nguyen.
It's a story that is Only On 2.
"Gunshots… oh… [expletive deleted]." Horton can be heard saying.
His cellphone video captured the terrifying moment when a police pursuit turned into an officer-involved shooting.
Sky9 captured the moment from the air just before the suspect crashed into an SUV.
On the ground, the unmistakable crunching sound of impact,. The suspect slammed into his Buick Enclave before it went head on with a red car.
And then the sounds of gunfire.
"Oh, I lay completely on my floor. Luckily, I have an SUV I lay completely in the back. Once I heard those gunshots, so I didn't know if there's going to be ricochets from anything or whatever the case may be," Horton said.
It all started with a reckless driving call in Sun Valley. The driver made erratic moves and he rammed police cars. On our count -- at least 7 times.
Then the chase hit the 5 Freeway. The driver went the wrong-way on the northbound lanes.
A CHP officer shot at the car from behind the median. But the suspect kept going – weaving through packed traffic.
A second officer opened fire before a series of crashes into unsuspecting drivers.
The suspect was ultimately boxed in and this led to a stand-off where commuters were stuck on the freeway.
"We were stuck there for about 30 minutes, at least," said one man, "They're letting everybody back in their cars. And making a U-turn."
After some time the suspect jumped out.
It appeared he had a knife and officers shot him with non-lethal force. So the suspect jumped back into the car.
Nearly half an hour later, the man suddenly got out of his sedan and started walking around.
Officers shot at him again using less than lethal force. They hit him -- he flailed -- and fell to the ground where he was arrested and taken into custody.
"I'm just happy nobody got hit by any of those gunshots," Horton says, "You know a lot of people were in the line of fire and that's -- man -- scary."
Horton told Nguyen today he went to see a doctor because he woke up with back pain. He also said his SUV, the car he uses to drive rideshare, is a total loss.