Wrong-way car chase on 5 Freeway ends with CHP collision
An erratic driver who at one point led officers on a wrong-way chase down the 5 Freeway in Commerce was arrested Monday after he was hit by two patrol cars.
The chase started shortly after 8:15 a.m. when California Highway Patrol officers responded to reports of a driver who was stopping on the freeway and making hand gestures to drivers who could not pass, KTLA-TV Channel 5 reported.
At one point, the driver, who was not immediately identified, reportedly stopped for an extended time on the northbound 5 Freeway at Rosecrans Avenue in Norwalk, CHP Officer Kevin Tao said. Television news footage also showed the man driving slowly back and forth across all lanes.
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Authorities were initially stuck in the traffic caused by the man, who got back in his sedan and sped off instead of complying with orders from CHP officers.
The pursuit came to an end about 9 a.m., after the driver made a U-turn on the freeway and began driving the wrong way.
Video footage showed one CHP vehicle carrying out a “pit maneuver” by bumping the sedan, causing the driver to temporarily lose control. When he attempted to drive off, another CHP patrol car slammed into him nearly head on just south of Atlantic Boulevard.
CHP officers pulled the man out of his car after breaking his window open.
Two lanes of the northbound 5 Freeway were closed while the incident was under investigation, causing major delays for morning commuters.
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