Police Pursuit and Subsequent Los Angeles Car Crash Ends in Two Fatalities
LOS ANGELES (February 1, 2023) – A police pursuit in the San Fernando Valley ended in tragedy last night when two innocent bystanders were killed. The chase ended in a multiple-vehicle accident in Panorama City around 8 p.m. near the intersection of Woodman Avenue and Lanark Street.
According to a report from Fox Los Angeles, Los Angeles Police officers were pursuing a suspected stolen Toyota Tacoma pickup truck across the San Fernando Valley when the pickup collided with a Honda Civic ending the chase. The driver and a passenger in the Honda Civic, two fathers, aged 47 and 49, who were coming back from grabbing tacos just up the street from where they live, were killed.
The two men, according to Los Angeles Police, speaking to Fox News, were pronounced dead at the scene. One man leaves behind a son who just turned 18, and the other has a 16-year-old daughter.
Man Arrested After Los Angeles Crash
CBS Los Angeles reports that, according to the LAPD, the traffic pursuit began just before 7:50 p.m. when officers spotted the stolen pickup in the Westlake District on South Alvarado Street near Olympic Boulevard.
In a news conference, LAPD Deputy Chief Alan Hamilton said that the driver of the alleged stolen pickup took “evasive measures to get away from the officers.”
The truck headed north on Woodman Ave. into Panorama City, approximately 17 miles from where police officers first spotted it. The truck hit the Honda Civic in the 13700 block of Lanark Street, mangling the vehicle and killing the men inside.
According to Hamilton, the driver and passenger in the Toyota Tacoma fled on foot immediately following the horrific crash but were quickly apprehended. The passenger was shot with a taser and injured while apprehended by police.
The 32-year-old driver of the alleged stolen pickup was arrested and booked into the Los Angeles Police Department Valley Jail on felony murder charges.
