Phone to ear, pedal to metal

A man pulled over by Beverly Hills police Wednesday afternoon for violating the “hands-free” cellphone law led authorities on a wild chase in a reported stolen van, striking cars along Wilshire Boulevard before driving the wrong way onto the 405 Freeway.

The incident began shortly before 1 p.m. when an officer stopped a driver in his 20s near Santa Monica Boulevard and Rexford Drive after seeing him talk on his cellphone without a hands-free device, said Lt. Tony Lee, a Beverly Hills police spokesman.

When the officer ran a check on the white Ford Econoline van’s license plate, he learned the vehicle had been reported stolen. As the officer got out of his patrol car to approach the van, the suspect drove off, heading west on Santa Monica Boulevard into Westwood.

“He was driving recklessly at a very high speed,” Lee said.

The man hit at least two cars as he fled: one in Beverly Hills and the other in Westwood.

Lee said he did not know if anyone was injured in the collisions but no fatalities were reported.

The man then drove south onto the northbound 405 Freeway at Wilshire, Lee said. Moments later, he crashed into an embankment but kept going.

California Highway Patrol and Los Angeles Police Department patrol officers and a helicopter joined the pursuit. The chase ended when the man got off the 405 at Olympic Boulevard and was surrounded at Ohio Street and Sawtelle Boulevard about 1:15 p.m., Lee said.

Beverly Hills police arrested the man. Lee said the driver so far has refused to speak to authorities, but drugs or alcohol do not appear to have played a role.

“You could tell he was nervous when he got pulled over,” Lee said. “But this behavior is just not normal.”

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francisco.varaorta@latimes.com