An early morning tragedy unfolded in the Central-Alameda neighborhood of Los Angeles Wednesday when a man on a bike was struck and killed by a suspect's vehicle during a police chase. The chaos began shortly after 6:00 A.M when LAPD officers attempted to pull over a suspect involved in a theft from a vehicle, according to ABC7. The suspect, fleeing capture, collided with the bicyclist near Hooper Avenue and 46th Street.
Following the initial crash, the chase continued, leading to the suspect's vehicle hitting eight other vehicles before coming to a horrific end, flipping onto its side. Miraculously, none of those involved in the secondary collisions sustained serious injuries. "Fortunately, none of them required medical attention, and no one needed to be transported," Detective Meghan Aguilar told ABC7, "which is quite a miracle considering what we have at this intersection and the force and the impact that would've been needed for this suspect vehicle to be upside down on its side."
The deceased bicyclist's identity has yet to be disclosed. Overhead footage showed a white canopy set up over the body, covered by a sheet near 46th Street, as described by KTLA. Alejandro Contreras, an eyewitness, recalled the disturbing nature of the event to KTLA 5’s Kareen Wynter, saying, "How can you describe it? It just sucks, what happened to that guy...he got decapitated."
The suspect, an adult male whose name has not been released, tried to flee the scene on foot but was quickly apprehended by law enforcement. Details regarding his charges are still pending, but he is expected to face felony counts for his role in the fatal incident. The situation left some residents without power after a power pole was damaged in the melee. As per KTLA, Hooper Avenue will remain closed until the preliminary investigation is complete.
Local residents expressed their concerns amid a recent uptick in area violence. "It's been getting crazy out here. We don't even know," one resident told ABC7. "Last night, there was a person that got chased by [someone] with a knife, and I'm like, 'Wow' ... it's just getting out of hand right here." The investigation into the tragic series of events is ongoing.
