After a vehicular pursuit that began in Compton, two Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies were injured when their car collided with a central divider and a tree in the Long Beach area early Sunday morning, as reported by NBC Los Angeles. The incident, which occurred north of the 91 Freeway on Atlantic Avenue, was a response to what was initially an act of illegal street racing around 4 a.m., where a suspect vehicle reportedly struck a sheriff's patrol car.
Following the impact, one of the deputies was able to extricate himself from the wreckage, and the other had to be rescued by Long Beach firefighters, as Jake Heflin, a public information officer for the Long Beach Fire Department, according to CBS News. The deputies were subsequently taken to the hospital, and while one has since been released, the other remains hospitalized, their pursuit had begun in Compton and escalated into a chase to Long Beach, where the crash ultimately took place.
The sheriff's chase stemmed from an alleged assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, and it escalated into a chase that ended with the suspect vehicle crashing on Atlantic Boulevard, north of the 91 Freeway, as detailed by ABC7.
"At least one suspect was taken into custody," as stated by NBC Los Angeles. Further information has yet to be released.
