LAPD officer, innocent driver injured in back-to-back crashes during South LA pursuit

A pursuit led to a Los Angeles Police Department officer crashing into a street bench in South LA before the suspect kept going and slammed into an innocent driver Thursday night, according to LAPD.

The chase started around 11:30 p.m. when officers tried to stop a suspected stolen white Mercedes but the driver refused to pull over, police said. An LAPD unit in pursuit of the driver later crashed into a street bench at South Hoover Street and West Jefferson Boulevard, just outside the University of California campus. Two miles away, the suspect crashed into another car, LAPD said.

The LAPD officer and the other driver not involved in the chase were both left with injuries police described as minor.

Police said the suspect was taken into custody on suspicion of felony evading and grand theft auto.

Footage shows the crashed LAPD patrol vehicle actually on top of the bench, crushing more than half the bench to the ground with a street light knocked to the ground and lying in the street. In video of the second crash, two white cars are seen with their airbags deployed and their entire front ends smashed in.

No other details have been released by police as the investigation continues.