COUNTYWIDE : Driver of Stolen Van Escapes After Chase
Authorities have been unable to locate the driver of a stolen van who eluded officers after a high-speed car chase on the Ventura Freeway early Wednesday, a Sheriff’s Department spokesman said.
The chase began at 1:20 a.m. in Thousand Oaks and ended when the vehicle crashed in the El Rio area of Oxnard, Sgt. Jim Wilburn said.
But sheriff’s deputies and two police dogs, backed up by officers from the California Highway Patrol and Oxnard Police Department, were unable to locate the driver, who left the crash scene on foot, Wilburn said.
Deputies first spotted the speeding van, which had been stolen in Los Angeles, driving westerly through Thousand Oaks. The deputies chased the van over the Conejo Grade, where they were joined by the CHP, Wilburn said. The chase reached speeds of more than 100 m.p.h., he added.
Officers searched for the driver for nearly two hours at the crash scene.
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