Officer, Driver Crash After Freeway Chase
A California Highway Patrol officer and a suspected drunk driver swerved off a freeway and crashed in Pacoima after a frantic chase early Tuesday, authorities said.
The officer, whose name was not released, was spared serious injuries because his patrol car’s air bag inflated during the accident, CHP Officer Layne Logan said. The officer was treated for minor injuries at Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills.
The suspect, whose name was not released, was taken to Van Nuys Jail and held on suspicion of drunk driving. The driver suffered only minor injuries.
The chase began about 1:15 a.m. on the eastbound Simi Valley Freeway near the San Diego Freeway when officers ordered the driver to pull over. The driver refused and the chase soon reached speeds estimated at 120 m.p.h.
The fleeing motorist was on the transition road connecting the Simi Valley Freeway and the Foothill Freeway when his car suddenly veered right into an embankment. The officer, swerving to the left to avoid another vehicle, hit the center divider, Logan said.
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