Man Arrested After 3-Hour Car Chase

After a nearly three-hour car chase that began in North Hills and involved three police agencies and at least four freeways, a Woodland Hills man was arrested early Wednesday morning after he abandoned his car and fled on foot, officials said.

Steven Rulf, 31, was found by a Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department canine unit in brush along the westbound Ventura Freeway in Calabasas, said Sgt. Michael Sonntag of the Los Angeles Police Department.

Sonntag said Rulf had driven at speeds averaging between 80 and 85 mph during the pursuit, which began about 3:20 a.m.

“He was cooking along pretty good,” Sonntag said. “Luckily it was a time of the morning when the freeways are not too crowded.”

No one was injured during the chase.

Rulf was driving a car that he had borrowed from his girlfriend when officers in a patrol car spotted him going north on the San Diego Freeway, Sonntag said. The officers attempted to pull him over for a traffic violation, but Rulf kept going.

“He didn’t want to stop for police,” said Lt. Paul Wright of the LAPD.

Rulf headed east onto the 118 Freeway and Foothill Freeway before briefly exiting the highways for surface streets, Sonntag said. Rulf then drove onto the westbound Foothill Freeway and retraced his route until he was heading south on the San Diego Freeway.

At that point, California Highway Patrol officers took over the pursuit and reportedly chased him all the way to La Tijera Boulevard near Los Angeles International Airport and then back into the Valley.

The car portion of the chase ended when Rulf ditched his car on the Ventura Freeway near the Lost Hills Road exit, Sonntag said, and ran across several lanes before disappearing into bushes.

Two hours later, he was captured by a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department canine unit and turned over to the LAPD. Rulf was taken to Van Nuys Traffic Division, where he was held on suspicion of felony evading arrest.

Tests were taken to determine whether he was under the influence of drugs or alcohol, but results were not yet available, police said.

Sonntag said police officers contacted the owner of the car, who told them she had given Rulf permission to use it.

Rulf, who had warrants out on previous misdemeanor charges, will be held at least until his arraignment Friday, police said.