3 Teenagers Caught After Freeway Chase
Three teenage boys from Lakewood were arrested in Santa Paula early Wednesday after California Highway Patrol officers ended a long high-speed chase by ramming their minivan, authorities said.
The chase began about 2:30 a.m. when Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies spotted a 1988 Toyota minivan, which had been reported stolen, on the San Gabriel River Freeway near Santa Fe Springs, CHP Officer Dave Cockrill said. Traveling at up to 100 mph, the van got on and off several area freeways, eventually reaching Ventura County on California 126, Cockrill said.
Near Fillmore, three Ventura County CHP cars took over the pursuit, following the van--still traveling up to 100 mph--for about five minutes. The van got off at 10th Street in Santa Paula, slowed down to about 20 mph, and was rammed from behind by a CHP cruiser.
That caused the van to spin, hit a curb and blow a tire. Cockrill described the intentional collision as a routine tactic used to halt pursuits that slow down in areas with no people around.
The chase ended moments later on 12th Street after the van’s tire went flat. Two 15-year-olds and a 16-year-old were arrested about 4:15 a.m. and booked into Ventura County Jail on suspicion of vehicle theft and possession of stolen property.
The driver faces an additional count of evading arrest, Cockrill said.
“I don’t know if they were joy riding, or if they had plans to sell [the van],” Cockrill said.
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