Driver Held After Chase That Ends in Crash, Fire
The driver of a van who failed to pull over for police on the Hollywood Freeway collided with a gasoline pump near a Universal City freeway exit on Sunday, starting a small fire, Los Angeles police said.
Police first saw a van being driven erratically in a southbound lane of the Hollywood Freeway at about 12:45 a.m. and tried to pull it over near Roscoe Boulevard. But the driver continued driving faster than the speed limit until he reached the Cahuenga Boulevard West exit, Officer Bill Mulvihill said.
The van crashed into the guard rail twice then careened across Cahuenga Boulevard into the gas station, where it it hit a gasoline pump and stopped, Mulvihill said. The fire ignited in the crash was put about 10 minutes later by the Los Angeles Fire Department.
The driver fled on foot across the Hollywood Freeway, police said. Police arrested Romero Angeles, 20, on the other side of the freeway on suspicion of evading police, Mulvihill said.
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