A woman was killed and three others were injured when a police chase in the Los Angeles region resulted in an accident.
According to CBS News, NBC Los Angeles, and KTLA, Los Angeles Police Department detectives were tracking a man who reportedly stole a Mercedes-Benz in Winnetka, Calif., in the San Fernando Valley, on Saturday afternoon, Nov. 23.
According to FOX LA, the car pursuit began when cops attempted to stop the Mercedes-Benz because the license plate did not match the description of the vehicle to which it was supposed to belong.
According to KTLA, the motorist, who police described only as a guy in his 40s, accelerated down a busy thoroughfare.
“They waited for backup and our airship to come and support them in that traffic stop, but suddenly that Mercedes took off at a high rate of speed,” LAPD Detective Meghan Aguilar told CBS News.
“As soon as he began to drive erratically, giving the officers the indication that he realized they were behind him, that’s when we had to act accordingly,” LAPD Deputy Chief Don Graham told ABC 7.
The Mercedes driver rushed away from police, and only one minute later, he collided with a Tesla driving through a green signal at Saticoy Street and Mason Avenue.
“The light had turned green for the east and west traffic on Saticoy,” Graham said with KTLA. “The suspect vehicle crashed into the Tesla as it was heading southbound at a high rate of speed, and the Tesla then crashed into the other two vehicles.”
Although bystanders told CBS that the driver of the Mercedes attempted to flee the scene after the incident, cops apprehended him nearly quickly and brought him to a local hospital with minor injuries, police said.
Authorities noted that the Tesla driver, a woman in her 40s, died on the spot. Three persons in the other two cars received minor injuries.
According to reports, the Mercedes was seen flipped on its side following the collision, while the white Tesla was wrecked. “It was bad,” Maria Toribio, a resident who saw the tragedy, told KTLA. “That was my initial reaction, my stomach started to churn.”
“This is the kind of tragedy that will live with this family forever, especially so close to the holidays,” Graham told KTLA of the crash. “It is unfathomable to think about.”
Locals have recognized the crossroads where this crash occurred as a common source of car accidents in the Valley. According to the Los Angeles Daily News, another big crash occurred on Saticoy just a few blocks away in February, killing one man and critically injuring another lady.
In 2021, CBS News reported that two people were hospitalized with severe burns after a vehicle collided with numerous parked cars before setting fire.
