Pit stop pursuit: L.A. burglary suspect hits the gas station before hitting CHP cruiser
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- A burglary suspect in a black Honda led the LAPD on a sprawling chase from North Hollywood to North Hills, even stopping to refuel before crashing head-on into a CHP cruiser.
- Helicopter footage showed the driver blowing red lights, darting through residential streets and freeways, while a motorcycle rider briefly confronted the car at a red light in a tense roadside encounter.
- The pursuit marked the second time this week a suspect fueled up mid-chase, following a separate incident involving 19-year-old Christian Fuentes topping off a reportedly stolen dirt bike.
A burglary suspect led police on a chase from North Hollywood to North Hills in the San Fernando Valley on Friday — stopping for gas somewhere in between — where he was arrested after crashing his car into a CHP vehicle.
The man, who has not yet been named, matched the description of a burglary suspect when police spotted him driving a black Honda around 10:10 a.m., a Los Angeles Police Department spokesperson said.
He didn’t stop the car, and police gave chase, the spokesperson added.
Aerial footage from an NBC LA helicopter showed the driver running red lights and stop signs on surface streets before getting onto and off of the 405 Freeway and pulling into an Arco gas station.
He was the second man this week to stop for gas while police chased him. Christian Fuentes, 19, was arrested Wednesday after leading police on an hourlong pursuit on a dirt bike that was reported stolen.
The young man rode on surface streets while talking on the phone and, at one point, stopped to fill up with gas to continue to evade arrest.
During Friday’s chase, after apparently topping off the tank, the Honda driver peeled off just as police arrived at the gas station.
The chase continued through a residential neighborhood, busy surface streets and on and off the 405. At some point, a motorcycle rider engaged the suspect, following and gesticulating at him and, at a red light, getting off his bike in an apparent attempt to open the Honda’s passenger-side door.
The chase ended with the suspect driving the wrong way on the interstate, crashing into a California Highway Patrol car, jumping out of his car and running off the road and down an embankment before officers caught up with him and took him into custody.
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