BELL CANYON : Driver Arrested After High-Speed Chase

A suspected drunk driver was arrested after he led Ventura County sheriff’s deputies on a chase from Bell Canyon to Canoga Park that ended after he crashed his luxury sports car, authorities said Wednesday.

Scott Roberts, 43, of Salt Lake City was being held on $35,000 bail at the Los Angeles Police Department’s Van Nuys Division Jail on Wednesday. Roberts was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving and evading arrest.

The chase started about 11:45 p.m. Tuesday when Ventura County sheriff’s deputies passing through Los Angeles County noticed that a car had run a red light, Senior Deputy Hallett Sullivan said.

Sullivan said he and Deputy William Gentry tried to stop the speeding Jaguar because they thought that it might be stolen. One of the car’s windows was broken, which is a common way for thieves to enter a car, Sullivan said.

The driver refused to pull over and led deputies on a 10-mile chase on surface streets in Canoga Park, with speeds reaching 80 m.p.h., Sullivan said.

“Those things have some power to them,” said Sullivan, who was chasing the Jaguar in a department-issued Ford Crown Victoria.

The chase ended when the Jaguar ran another red light and hit a car at high speed at Saticoy Street and Topanga Canyon Boulevard, Sullivan said.

The driver of the other car, Madeleine Hovspian, 22, of Tarzana, received minor injuries. Roberts’ car spun out of control and came to rest at the curb, Sullivan said.

Roberts is scheduled to be arraigned Friday in Van Nuys Municipal Court.