Suspect, Officers Hurt in Chase
A suspected drunk driver was hospitalized and two California Highway Patrol officers were injured in separate accidents during a 45-minute high-speed chase early Sunday morning through the San Fernando and Santa Clarita valleys, police said.
Albert Lee Polfus, 25, of Newhall was in stable condition Sunday at Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital in Valencia after his car plunged 130 feet down an embankment off Sand Canyon Road.
A CHP spokesman said Polfus faces arrest on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol and evading arrest.
Two CHP officers, Don North, 27, and Doug Villars, 25, were treated at the hospital after their cruiser overturned on the northbound Golden State Freeway near Osborne Street during the chase, which began shortly after 3 a.m.
The chase started when police noticed a 1982 Honda swerving as it traveled north on the Golden State Freeway at Sheldon Street, CHP officer Monty Keifer said. It continued at speeds as high as 110 m.p.h. for several miles on the freeway and through surface streets in Sylmar, Pacoima, Panorama City, Van Nuys and then back to the northbound Golden State Freeway, Keifer said.
Polfus’ car careened off the road at a bend in Sand Canyon Road in Newhall, Keifer said.
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