A Mercedes driver slammed into a Beverly Hills police vehicle early Monday as officers moved to stop a stolen car, then veered off the road, hit a tree, and burst into flames. The Beverly Hills Fire Department extinguished the fire and rushed the driver to a hospital, where he was listed in critical but stable condition.
According to NBC Los Angeles, officers were first alerted to a Mercedes being driven erratically near North Santa Monica and Beverly boulevards early Monday. Around the same time, an officer located a stolen vehicle in the area of Sunset Boulevard and Elm Drive. As officers prepared to carry out a felony stop on the stolen car, the Mercedes driver collided with the police vehicle.
Car Veers Into a Tree and Catches Fire
After striking the patrol vehicle, the Mercedes veered off and crashed into a tree before catching fire, the outlet's report states. Firefighters knocked down the flames and transported the driver for treatment. Law enforcement sources told the station that he was in critical but stable condition following the crash.
The case remains under investigation, with authorities looking into it as a possible DUI, per the same report. No further details on the driver's identity or any charges have been released.
Not the First Mercedes Chase Through Beverly Hills
This is not the first time a Mercedes has ended up wrecked in Beverly Hills amid a police response. In late July, Beverly Hills police pursued a white Mercedes sedan into West Hollywood after officers noticed it being driven erratically with what appeared to be incorrect plates, according to the Beverly Hills Courier. That pursuit ended with two occupants arrested after they fled on foot near Sunset Boulevard and Doheny Drive.
In a separate incident, a driver was arrested after crashing his Mercedes SUV into a tree in Beverly Hills following a brief high-speed pursuit by Los Angeles police, CBS News Los Angeles reported. And elsewhere in Los Angeles County, a stolen Mercedes-Benz G-Class caught fire during a police pursuit on a Wednesday night, as detailed in another CBS News Los Angeles report.
Beverly Hills police vehicles themselves have also taken damage during pursuits. At least two Beverly Hills Police Department officers suffered minor injuries after their patrol vehicle flipped over near UCLA while pursuing a person suspected of driving a stolen car, according to KTLA.
