Carjacking Suspect Chased 15 Miles From Huntington Park to Crash in Highland Park

A carjacking suspect led Huntington Park police on a pursuit stretching more than a dozen miles across Los Angeles County Tuesday night, ending in a violent crash in Highland Park that sent an innocent driver's airbags deploying and left the suspect in handcuffs. The chase began near Atwater Village and wound through hilly residential streets before the suspect T-boned another vehicle at the intersection of Figueroa Street and South Avenue 52.

According to CBS News Los Angeles, Huntington Park police were pursuing a suspect driving a stolen vehicle when officers first spotted the car near Atwater Village. Officers trailed the suspect through winding residential roads near Glendale and Mount Washington before the pursuit reached Highland Park, where the suspect ultimately crashed into the driver's side of another car. Huntington Park sits roughly 12 to 15 miles south of these Northeast Los Angeles neighborhoods, according to Uber route data, underscoring how far the chase traveled across municipal lines before it ended.

Crash Sends Airbags Deploying, Officers Rush to Help

The suspect was driving a Ford Focus when it slammed into the other vehicle at Avenue 52 and 53rd and Figueroa Street, causing the innocent driver's airbags to deploy, according to an ABC7 broadcast. Officers pulled the suspect from the car and made the arrest shortly after the collision, the station reported. Per the same broadcast, pursuing officers requested an ambulance for the injured driver and walked them to a nearby gas station for safety, echoing the report that officers helped the driver walk clear of the wreck.

A Pattern of Risky Pursuits Across City Lines

This is not the first time a Huntington Park Police Department chase has stretched across jurisdictions and ended violently. Hoodline previously reported that a December 2023 pursuit of a road-rage suspect spanned multiple roadways before ending in Hacienda Heights with an officer-involved shooting after the suspect rammed several patrol cars. A 2018 case documented by the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office involved a Huntington Park chase in which a stolen-vehicle suspect fled at high speed, crashed into another car, and drove onto Metro Gold Line tracks into a subway tunnel, according to that office's press release.

What Charges Could Follow

Under California Penal Code Section 215, carjacking is defined as taking a motor vehicle from another person by force or fear and is punishable by three, five, or nine years in state prison as a violent felony strike, according to legal analysis compiled by the Shouse California Law Group. Separately, California Vehicle Code Section 2800.2 classifies evading a pursuing officer with willful or wanton disregard for safety as a felony carrying up to three years in prison and $10,000 in fines, per Eisner Gorin LLP. It remains unclear whether Los Angeles County prosecutors have filed formal charges against the suspect in this case.

Liability Rules Shape How Police Chases Unfold

California law also governs how departments like Huntington Park's are allowed to conduct pursuits like this one. Under Vehicle Code Section 17004.7, established by Senate Bill 719, local agencies retain civil liability immunity for pursuit-related injuries or property damage only if they enforce a written pursuit policy meeting a dozen statutory standards and conduct annual officer training, according to a legal summary from Jones Mayer. Those standards exist precisely because high-speed chases through residential streets carry real risk to bystanders like the driver struck in Highland Park.

Auto Thefts Down Statewide, But Local Risk Persists

The pursuit comes even as vehicle thefts have been falling sharply across California. Statewide auto thefts dropped nearly 25.8% in 2025 following a 13% decline in 2024, credited to targeted crime suppression deployments and surveillance technology, FOX 11 reported in July, citing California Highway Patrol data. Still, Los Angeles County was identified as the top county in the state for vehicle thefts in 2023, contributing heavily to California's total of 202,802 stolen vehicles that year, according to the CHP. Tuesday's chase is a reminder that even as theft numbers trend downward, individual carjackings and the pursuits they trigger remain dangerous for everyone on the road nearby.