MALIBU (CNS) – Three children injured in a high-speed crash at the end of a pursuit from East LA to Malibu involving an alleged carjacking are expected to survive, authorities said Saturday.
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The children — ages 8, 6 and 2 — were inside a light-colored Chrysler sedan left running at about 6:35 p.m. Friday outside the 7-Eleven at Arizona Street and Olympic Boulevard, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
The department said the children’s mother had parked her vehicle outside the store, leaving the engine running, while the children’s father was parked adjacent to the vehicle in another car as the mother entered the store.
The father witnessed the theft and attempted to intervene by jumping on the vehicle, sheriff’s officials said. He was dragged a short distance before falling to the ground and suffered injuries to his upper body.
Deputies from the LASD’s East Los Angeles station spotted the stolen car and tried to stop it but the suspect kept going and the pursuit covered several roadways and the Santa Monica (10) Freeway with CHP officers assisting deputies, sheriff’s officials said.
The chase ended when the car driven by the kidnapping suspect T-boned another car on Pacific Coast Highway at Kanan Dume Road at about 7:40 p.m. while driving approximately 90 mph, according to video from the scene.
Three other vehicles were involved in the crash, sheriff’s officials said.
The suspect got out of the car after the collision, running into a wooded area. He could be seen climbing over a barbed-wire fence, then removing his shirt. He appeared to be barefoot as he walked around private properties, and was arrested by CHP officers in a residential area near Portahead Road and Boniface Drive, sheriff’s officials said.
The suspect, who was not identified, remained hospitalized Saturday with non-life-threatening injuries, the LASD said. His name will be released after the booking process is completed, the department said.
The three children were hospitalized for observation. A woman was also taken to a hospital for treatment of her injuries, the LASD said, but no further information was available about her.
They were all flown to a hospital by helicopter.
Anyone with information about the case was asked to contact Detective Peter Levine or the watch commander at the sheriff’s East Los Angeles station Watch Commander at 323-264-4151, or Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477.
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