Trucker Rams 24 Cars in High-Speed, 35-Mile Freeway Trip

A driver of a tractor-trailer deliberately rammed at least 24 cars on freeways between Pomona and Hollywood on Wednesday before a dozen law officers surrounded the truck and arrested him, California Highway Patrol officials reported.

The 40-foot truck--carrying a cargo of ironing boards--hit speeds as high as 80 m.p.h. over 35 miles of freeways in the episode. It left behind a trail of dented fenders, upset motorists, leaking diesel fuel and a massive traffic jam. Apparently there were no serious injuries.

The wild run ended when the truck’s brakes locked near the Gower Street off-ramp of the Hollywood Freeway and rolled to a stop in the No. 2 lane. Several patrolmen forced the driver out of the cab at gunpoint and wrestled him to the ground, witnesses said.

Drugs Found in Cab

A loaded pistol, drug paraphernalia, a partly smoked marijuana cigarette and a small quantity of unknown narcotics were found in the cab, officers said.

The driver, Charley Tom Lee Jr., 25, of Haltom City, Tex., was booked on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, evading arrest, reckless driving and possession of drugs, drug paraphernalia and a concealed weapon. Tests indicated he was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Officer Bruce Hansen said Lee explained ramming the vehicles this way:

“Those people who would get out of my way, I wouldn’t hit. But if they wouldn’t get out of my way, I would hit them.”

Police said Lee estimated that he had hit 30 or 40 cars, but investigators were still trying to identify all the vehicles involved.

Jerry Johnston, a dispatcher with Ft. Worth-based Lisa Motor Lines Inc., which is a division of Frozen Food Express of Houston, said Lee has worked with the firm about two years. “He’s been one of our very best drivers and is a very nice person, I have no explanation for what happened,” Johnston said.

Wendal Short, safety director for the trucking company, said the truck “apparently had safety checks before entering California. We are on top of the situation and have notified our insurance people. We don’t know anything more right now.”

The incident began about 3:50 p.m., when officers received a report of a hit-and-run accident on the westbound San Bernardino Freeway near Covina. A trucker allegedly rammed several other cars near the Long Beach interchange, and then several miles later smashed into five others near the Silver Lake exit of the Hollywood Freeway.

Seven more vehicles were hit north of the Western Avenue off-ramp, officers said. Sgt. Bruce Wiedmer, one of approximately a dozen officers who chased the truck, said he saw Lee hit five cars. “His method was to run up behind a car going 15 to 25 m.p.h. faster than the intended victim and then accelerate,” said Wiedmer.

Officer William Cobb, who picked up the chase at Western Avenue, said “I saw him hit seven vehicles and slam them into the guardrail. I maintained a safe distance behind him until he stopped near Franklin. “I tried to motion him over and he just nodded his head and looked at me and said, ‘No way.’ ”

Mark Joseph, a 20-year-old La Mirada free-lance writer, who was heading to an interview, said Lee’s truck was gushing diesel fuel when it passed his car on the Hollywood Freeway.

“We couldn’t imagine why all these cops were following him if he was just leaking fuel,” Joseph said. The truck coasted to a stop, and was immediately surrounded by officers.

“He stumbled out of the cab, and they got on top of him and handcuffed him,” Joseph said.

Times staff writer Boris Yaro contributed to this article.