Infant Loses Arm in Police Chase Crash

A 2 1/2-week-old boy lost an arm Tuesday after his parents’ sport utility vehicle was broadsided by a car occupied by four men fleeing police during a short, high-speed pursuit in Sylmar.

Seven people were injured in the 2:30 p.m. crash, including the infant. The child was airlifted to Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, where doctors determined they could not reattach his left arm. The boy was in serious condition with stable vital signs late Tuesday.

“Besides the injury to his arm, he had some small bleeding around his brain, but it is not significant,” said Dr. James Stein. “We do expect him to recover, but at the present time he is in serious condition.”

The pursuit began about 2:27 p.m. when Los Angeles police spotted a blue Chevrolet Corsica that matched the description of one driven by suspects in a stabbing that had occurred minutes earlier in the 13200 block of Maclay Avenue, LAPD Officer Grace Brady said.

For two minutes, police chased the fleeing suspects until they ran a red light at Polk Street and Dronfield Avenue and crashed into the Ford Expedition containing the infant and his parents.

The baby was strapped into a child safety seat when the impact of the crash crushed a rear door jamb against his arm, ripping it off above the elbow. “It was a horrific incident,” said Capt. Bill Wick of the Los Angeles Fire Department. “It does appear that the [suspects’] car was traveling at a high rate of speed.”

The boy’s mother -- described by police as not seriously hurt but extremely distraught -- accompanied the baby to Childrens Hospital, police said.

None of the injuries sustained in the crash were considered to be life-threatening, authorities said.

The baby’s father, who had to be extricated from the vehicle, was treated at Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital in Santa Clarita and released. He was flown late Tuesday to Childrens Hospital to be with his wife and son, police said.

Alejandro Martinez, 26, the driver of the Corsica, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and evading arrest. His three passengers were questioned by police and released.

The attempted murder charge is based on the stabbing, although the victim did not require hospitalization. Additional charges in connection with the pursuit and crash may be considered, said LAPD spokesman Jason Lee.

LAPD Deputy Chief George Gascon, whose responsibilities include oversight of training and policy development, said police are still trying to determine what transpired during the chase in Sylmar.

According to the LAPD’s pursuit policy, the senior officer in the pursuing car has the responsibility of deciding whether to continue a chase.

The officer must weigh the potential threat to bystanders against the need to make an arrest, taking into account traffic, pedestrians and the danger posed by the suspect.

“Any time that innocent people get injured it’s a tragedy and it’s something we try to prevent,” Gascon said. “We want to protect the community and our officers; consequently we are always evaluating our training, policies and procedures to ensure that they reflect the contemporary needs of policing in the L.A. community.”

The Los Angeles Police Commission is currently conducting a study that compares the LAPD’s pursuit guidelines with those of other cities.

Commission President Rick Caruso said it appeared that Tuesday’s chase was in keeping with the department’s policy, based on early indications. Although officials will examine whether officers adhered to that policy, he stressed that there should be increased prison time for those who endanger lives by fleeing the police.

“You have to attack this from both sides,” Caruso said. “It has to be a felony with mandatory jail time if you evade police and you end up injuring an innocent person.

“There has to be a disincentive for doing this,” he added. “Instead, there’s an incentive [to flee] because you end up on the news and walk away from it with a misdemeanor.”

The number of police chases and resulting injuries among pedestrians increased significantly last year, according to Los Angeles Police Department statistics.

Pursuits rose to 769 in 2001 from 597 the previous year. Pedestrian injuries climbed to 69 in 2001, nearly double the number in 1998.

So far this year, there have been several injuries and at least two deaths in Southern California involving police pursuits.