Fleeing Narcotics Suspect Hurt as He Leaps From Car, Is Struck

A suspected rock cocaine dealer attempting to flee police on the Ventura Freeway on Wednesday was injured when he jumped from his moving vehicle and was run over by it, authorities said.

Xavier Paulino Gilbert of Van Nuys allegedly threw a briefcase filled with a pound of rock cocaine worth about $200,000 from his car before jumping, according to Lt. David Doan.

Gilbert was then struck by another car before tumbling into the bushes along the freeway in Tarzana. He was captured several hours later when a police dog picked up his scent in a nearby neighborhood, said Doan.

Gilbert, who suffered a dislocated left elbow and cuts, was hospitalized in the jail ward of the County-USC Medical Center. He was arrested on suspicion of possessing cocaine for sale.

Officers in an unmarked squad car tried to pull Gilbert over for expired registration at about 12:20 a.m., but Gilbert “panicked,” drove through a red light on Reseda Boulevard and onto the westbound freeway, Doan said.

Slid to Passenger Side

He slid over to the passenger side of the car, steering wildly with one hand while he threw the briefcase through an open window near Tampa Avenue, police said.

Gilbert leaped from the car, which “zigged and zagged” so that its rear wheels rolled over him, Doan said. Another car knocked Gilbert off the road.

Gilbert’s car struck a delivery truck and another car in the freeway’s fast lane, police said. The driver of the car suffered a foot injury in the crash and was treated at the Medical Center of Tarzana.

Gilbert, meanwhile, ran toward homes in the 5700 block of Vanalden Avenue as police cordoned off the area, Doan said. He was arrested at 2:15 a.m.

“He attempted to take off by climbing a fence, but a dog persuaded him not to,” Doan remarked.