Man Steals Bus, Leads CHP on 3-County Chase

The driver of a stolen bus who led authorities on a 4 1/2-hour chase from San Diego to Los Angeles crashed the vehicle into police cars and a house on a dead-end street in Brentwood on Saturday night.

The silver-and-red Godall Transportation bus, taken from a terminal in San Diego, was finally stopped about 10:45 p.m. on Waterford Street near the Veteran’s Administration Hospital, authorities said.

By the time the chase ended, three people were injured, including one woman whose car was rear-ended earlier in Brentwood and two California Highway Patrol officers, authorities said. The driver, wearing camouflage clothing, was taken into custody but was not identified.

After traveling from San Diego, the bus looped around the Los Angeles area. It headed north on the San Diego Freeway to Sunset Boulevard, where it headed west to the Pacific Coast Highway, where it proceeded north to Malibu Canyon Boulevard. It then headed to the Ventura Freeway in the San Fernando Valley, where it headed east to the San Diego Freeway, where it headed south, exiting on Waterford.

The bus had a full tank of gas when stolen, allowing it to travel between 600 and 800 miles, a CHP spokeswoman said.

It was reported missing at 11:50 a.m. from a terminal on Rosecrans Boulevard in San Diego. Later, the bus owner spotted it on Interstate 805 in San Diego and began chasing it. San Diego police and CHP officers were alerted and took over the chase.