A Los Angeles police chase of a stolen 2014 Hyundai sedan through Wilmington ended in a two-car crash Sunday night, sending one person to the hospital. Officers tried to pull over the suspect driving the stolen sedan on the 300 block of Pacific Coast Highway around 8:33 p.m., and the pursuit ended just a minute later when the fleeing car slammed into a Chevy SUV.
According to KTLA, the crash happened at 8:34 p.m. at the intersection area near Fries Avenue, and Sky5 footage showed major front-end damage to both vehicles. Authorities said one person was hospitalized following the chase and crash, though that person's condition has not been released. The outlet reported it remains unclear whether any arrests were made, and the total number of people involved in the crash is also unknown at this time.
Police blocked off the intersection of Pacific Coast Highway and Fries Avenue in Wilmington as officers worked the scene, per the same report. No further details on the suspect's identity or the SUV occupants have been made public.
Why LAPD Chased a Stolen Hyundai in the First Place
The Wilmington pursuit fits a well-documented pattern behind LAPD chases: stolen vehicles, DUIs, and reckless driving make up the top three reasons officers initiate pursuits, according to LAPD leadership testimony reported by CBS News. The 2014 Hyundai model targeted in this case belongs to a generation of Hyundai and Kia vehicles built between 2011 and 2021 without key-code engine immobilizers, a manufacturing gap that tech publication PCMag reports fueled a nationwide theft spike and led to a $500 million legal settlement. Viral videos popularizing simple ignition-bypass tricks for these key-start models made them an easy target for thieves nationwide.
That vulnerability hit Los Angeles especially hard. Statements attributed to former LAPD Chief Michel Moore indicated an 85% surge in car thefts across the city in 2022, with more than 1,600 Kia and Hyundai vehicles stolen that year alone, per TruthBeTold.news. City agencies responded by handing out free steering wheel locks and hosting software update clinics, though the theft trend has continued to put officers behind the wheel chasing stolen cars like the one that crashed in Wilmington.
How LAPD Decides When to Chase
LAPD policy permits officers to pursue suspects in stolen vehicles because auto theft is a felony, but department guidelines require officers and field supervisors to run a continuous balance test, weighing the danger to the public against the need to catch a fleeing suspect, according to the Los Angeles Times. Supervisors are supposed to order a chase terminated if road or traffic conditions make continuing too dangerous. Data published by the same paper shows why that calculus matters: out of 4,203 LAPD pursuits between 2018 and 2022, roughly a quarter ended in collisions causing injury or death, with 496 bystanders hurt and nine killed.
The timing of most pursuit crashes also raises questions about the Wilmington chase, which lasted only about a minute before impact. More than 75% of LAPD pursuit collisions happen within the first five minutes of a chase, and 64% occur at speeds between 41 and 80 mph, the Los Angeles Times reported. Whether LAPD command considered ordering Sunday's chase terminated before the crash has not been disclosed.
Potential Charges and a Pattern of Summer Crashes
Under California Vehicle Code Section 2800.1, fleeing a marked patrol car with lights and sirens active is a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in county jail, but evading recklessly or causing injury can be charged as a felony under Sections 2800.2 or 2800.3, according to Kraut Law Group. Whether prosecutors will pursue felony evading charges in the Wilmington case remains unknown, since it is unclear whether any arrests were made. State law also requires LAPD to document the pursuit and submit a standard Allied Agency Vehicle Pursuit Report to the California Highway Patrol within 30 days under Vehicle Code Section 14602.1.
Sunday's crash adds to a string of LAPD pursuit incidents that have drawn scrutiny across the city this summer. Hoodline reported three hospitalized after a South Los Angeles chase crash on July 31, which included allegations that an officer struck an uninvolved child. Other recent Hoodline coverage has tracked pursuit crashes in Lake Balboa, Pacoima, and Hollywood, along with a fiery LAPD cruiser crash in June. Wilmington itself saw another fatal late-night crash in March, when a two-vehicle rollover on nearby Anaheim Street killed one person and left two others in critical condition.
