A high-speed chase involving a stolen black Ford Mustang tore through Los Angeles early Thursday, careening onto the 405 Freeway, swerving through the scenic curves of Mulholland Drive, and finally ending in a crash into bushes outside a Sherman Oaks home. By the time it was over, police had a suspect in custody, two men needing medical attention, and a residential block full of neighbors who'd been jolted outside to see what happened.
According to the New York Post, the pursuit began near Saticoy Street and Sepulveda Boulevard at 1:07 a.m., attributed to LAPD. That timeline conflicts with an account given to mynewsla.com, in which an LAPD spokeswoman told City News Service that officers started the pursuit at 1:02 a.m. at that same intersection of Sepulveda Boulevard and Saticoy Street. Either way, what followed was a chase that stretched across the San Fernando Valley and into the hills above it.
Police say the driver fled in a stolen black Ford Mustang, according to the outlet's report, eventually merging onto the 405 Freeway before exiting onto Mulholland Drive, the narrow, winding road through the Santa Monica Mountains known for its sweeping views of Los Angeles and the Valley below. The Post reports that two men raced through that stretch of road in the supercharged sports car, at one point driving dangerously close to spectators who often pull over along Mulholland to take in the skyline.
A Brief Escape, Then Spike Strips
At some point during the chase, the driver managed to briefly evade pursuing officers. The report notes that a separate police vehicle then spotted the Mustang east of Beverly Glen Boulevard and picked the pursuit back up. Police eventually deployed spike strips that disabled the car, according to the Post's account, setting up the crash that would end the chase for good.
The Mustang went down in the 3400 block of Woodcliff Road, crashing into bushes near a home in Sherman Oaks. The vehicle appeared to have deployed its airbags and sustained severe front-end damage. Per the same account, the crash prompted residents nearby to step outside and see what was happening on their street in the middle of the night.
One Suspect Collapses, The Other Talks Trash
One suspect tried to run from the crash scene but collapsed and needed medical attention, the Post reports. LAPD took two suspects into custody on suspicion of felony evading at 6:23 a.m., per LAPD. Police requested an ambulance for a 40-year-old man who was conscious and breathing but complained of lower back pain, while another man needed medical attention for pain stemming from the collision, according to police. The Los Angeles Fire Department transported one man for treatment related to the traffic accident, per LAFD. A man was treated at the scene wearing a neck brace and with facial injuries, the outlet reported.
The second man told the outlet he was the passenger, claiming he had recently been released from jail for felony evading. He reportedly boasted that police would not have caught him had he been behind the wheel, and said he would wear the officers out. No spectators were reported injured in the incident, according to the report.
Separate Crash Near Arrest Site
Compounding the chaos, mynewsla.com reported that the pursuit caused a separate vehicle crash near the arrest site, with paramedics responding; no injuries were reported in that collision. The suspect suspected of grand theft auto fled on foot after the Mustang crashed at 1:28 a.m. on the 3400 block of Woodcliff Road, where officers ultimately caught up with him, per the outlet's reporting.
How Common Are LAPD Pursuits Like This One
Chases like Thursday's are not unusual in Los Angeles. LAPD data covering 2018 through year-to-date 2023, published by the Los Angeles Police Department, shows the department logged 4,203 vehicle pursuits in that span, with 1,592 of them resulting in a traffic collision. The same records show 1,032 pursuits, or 25 percent, ended in a collision with injury or death, while 406 were terminated by officers or supervisors and 609 were later adjudicated as out of policy or administrative disapproval. Department policy requires officers involved in a pursuit to continually evaluate whether continuing it remains necessary.
Statewide, pursuits are similarly frequent. A report submitted to the California Legislature by the California Highway Patrol found that 11,985 pursuits were reported to the agency during 2022, with 2,275 of them, or 19 percent, resulting in a crash. Other San Fernando Valley chases this year underscore how often these pursuits end badly: FOX 11 reported a chase involving a suspect in a red sedan who was clocked breaking 100 mph multiple times before crashing into bushes and a parked Tesla in Sherman Oaks, and CBS News reported on a separate pursuit of a suspected DUI driver in a white Range Rover that used the freeway shoulder before exiting near Sherman Oaks and entering a mall parking garage.
