Test Drive of Car Turns Into Chase

A man who walked into a Ventura auto showroom for a test drive Tuesday allegedly kidnaped a salesman and led police on a chase in the San Fernando Valley that ended in a Universal City parking structure, authorities said.

Daryl Lynn Simpson, 32, was booked on suspicion of kidnaping and auto theft at the Van Nuys jail, said Sgt. Nicholas Wade of the Los Angeles Police Department.

The incident began, police said, at Paradise Chevrolet on Victoria Avenue in Ventura, with salesman Russell Phelps showing Simpson a $27,000 black Camaro Z-28. Simpson got behind the wheel and Phelps got into the passenger seat for a test drive, according to police.

Phelps “wasn’t concerned until he realized that they were on the 101 freeway heading out of Ventura County,” Wade said.

Simpson allegedly told Phelps he was God and said he was driving to radio station KLOS, a rock music station in Los Angeles, to pick up money to pay for the car, Wade said.

Phelps told police he unsuccessfully tried several times to persuade Simpson--who at one point during the drive ripped off his shirt--to turn around. Simpson responded, he said, by telling Phelps he would not be beaten if he cooperated.

As they drove through the San Fernando Valley at about 80 m.p.h., Simpson realized he didn’t know where the radio station was located, Phelps told police. When Simpson exited the freeway to make a phone call at the intersection of Balboa and Ventura boulevards, Phelps bolted from the car and ducked into a nearby Smart & Final wholesale store, Wade said.

From there Phelps called police, and a description of the car was broadcast.

Los Angeles police officers spotted the car at the intersection of Van Nuys Boulevard and Vose Street in Van Nuys and called for backup help, Wade said. Two more patrol cars pulled up behind Simpson within minutes and gave chase.

Simpson led police onto the eastbound side of the Hollywood Freeway where he reached speeds of up to 90 m.p.h. before exiting at Magnolia Boulevard, Wade said. Once off the freeway, he led police through side streets, including a dead end street where he flattened two tires as he drove over a curb to elude police, Wade said.

Finally, Simpson crashed through a control gate at a multistory parking structure at Universal Studios, where he stopped the car and police took him into custody, Wade said.