Man Allegedly Steals Car with 3 Kids Inside in L.A., Leading to Dramatic Police Chase That Ends in a Crash and His Arrest By Kimberlee Speakman

A man was arrested after allegedly stealing a car with three children inside and driving off, which resulted in a dramatic police chase caught on video.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) said in a news release that officers responded to an assault with a deadly weapon call involving a pedestrian who had been hit by a car at a convenience store in East Los Angeles around 6:40 p.m. local time on Friday, Aug. 29. 

When officers arrived at the scene, they determined that the suspect entered a Chrysler vehicle with three children — aged, 2, 6 and 8 — inside, per police. The mother, who had been driving the car, left the engine running while she grabbed something at the store.

The children’s father was parked in a car next to the Chrysler and attempted to stop the suspect from driving off with his children inside, but was injured in the process, according to LASD. The car then drove westbound on Olympic Boulevard.

“The father attempted to intervene and was dragged by the stolen vehicle a short distance before falling to the ground, sustaining injuries to his upper body,” LASD said.

Officers with LASD’s East Los Angeles division located the suspect and the car, and attempted to stop him but he fled. Officers pursued him “along several roadways and interstate-10,” and the police chase eventually ended in Malibu after a “traffic collision involving four other vehicles.”

“The suspect abandoned the vehicle and fled on foot, up a steep embankment and into a residential area, where he was apprehended by [California Highway Patrol] officers,” LASD said.

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Erica Trujillo, who told local news outlet KABC that the crash happened in front of her, said she “braced for impact” and then saw the suspect “get out of the car” and “run.”

LASD added that the three children who had been in the Chrysler “sustained non-life-threatening injuries and were transported to a hospital for observation.” Authorities also said that a woman involved in the crash was injured and transported to the hospital.

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The suspect — who was identified as a “male Asian adult” — was “transported to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.” 

LASD, which noted that the suspect’s “identity will be confirmed once the booking process is complete,” also said the man sustained the injuries “possibly from the collision or during his attempt to avoid apprehension climbing through the mountainous residential area.”

Formal charges for the suspect are pending “as the booking process is completed,” per LASD.