SANTA ANA (CBSLA) – A pursuit involving a stolen big-rig which lasted more than six hours, winding its way across the Southland, has turned into a standoff in Santa Ana early Thursday morning.
The chase began in East Los Angeles, then made its way northwest into Ventura County, then back east into Commerce. It then made its way south into Orange County.
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At about 8:20 p.m. Wednesday, California Highway Patrol began the pursuit of a big rig that was stolen off a company yard in the city of Bell, off Interstate 5 and Indiana Street.
The driver led authorities through several cities in the San Fernando Valley, including Burbank and Woodland Hills.
According to CHP, the rig was stolen with about half-a-tank of fuel. The chase continued onto the 5 Freeway north near Sun Valley before the driver of the vehicle merged onto the westbound 118 Freeway.
At one point, after learning the trailer was empty, authorities used spike strips, which punctured some tires on the driver’s side. After the tires punctured, the driver turned on the emergency lights as sparks flew out from under the trailer. The truck continued on the westbound 118 Freeway without front tires as smoke appeared below it.
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The chase then made its way onto the southbound 23 Freeway, where police deployed another set of spike strips right before the semi entered the 101 Freeway.
Even though the big rig lost several tires in the front and back of the vehicle, it continued on eventually making its way onto the southbound 5 Freeway.
Police attempted to disable the vehicle with a third spike strip which proceeded to get stuck underneath the cab. The strips later dislodged.
Officers continued to throw spike strips, which proved to be ineffective as they wrapped around the stripped rims and dislodged before reaching other tires.
The chase eventually came to a stop on the southbound 55 Freeway, south of MacArthur Boulevard, where a standoff ensued. The standoff was ongoing as of 4:30 a.m. Thursday.
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The identity of the driver and the exact circumstances of the theft of the truck were unknown.