Officer, Motorist Hurt in Scuffle After Chase
A Manhattan Beach police officer and a suspected drunken hit-and-run driver suffered minor injuries during a scuffle after a car chase, police said Wednesday.
Gene Cella, 36, of Manhattan Beach allegedly hit one car and a power pole before nearly running a firetruck off the road, said Manhattan Beach Police Sgt. Karl Nilsson. When the pursuit ended about 10 p.m. Tuesday, Cella allegedly jumped from his brown El Camino and grabbed a woman by the neck. As police aimed shotguns and pistols at him “he began yelling kill me, shoot me, and things of that sort,” Nilsson said.
Officer Neal O’Gilvy tackled him and both suffered minor injuries. Cella was booked on suspicion of felony battery, driving while intoxicated, hit-and-run, resisting arrest and reckless evading.
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