Driver Flees, Injuring 2 L.A. Officers
A motorist, pulled over by police on a routine traffic stop in Chatsworth, injured two Los Angeles police officers Thursday when she gunned her engine and fled the scene, authorities said.
Los Angeles Officers James Kemerling, 29, and Kenneth Quigley, 41, suffered minor back injuries when they tried to stop the driver of a car they had pulled over at Topanga Canyon Boulevard near Parthenia Street, said Officer John Herrington of the Valley Traffic Division.
Joyce Ann Chiapuzio, 30, was arrested on suspicion of vehicular assault with a deadly weapon after the 1 p.m. incident, police said.
The incident began when Chiapuzio was pulled over for driving without registration stickers. She got out to talk to the officers, re-entered the car to get more documents, then drove off with Kemerling and Quigley leaning into the car, trying to remove the keys, Herrington said.
Police said Kemerling chased Chiapuzio in his patrol car for 200 yards until her auto stalled at Plummer Street and Topanga Canyon Boulevard, where she was arrested.
Kemerling and Quigley were treated and released from Northridge Hospital Medical Center and will return to work Monday, Herrington said.
Chiapuzio is the owner of the car and was not wanted for any other offenses, he said.
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