Crime & Safety

Driver Evading Police Does a U-Turn on 405, Drives Head-On Into Oncoming Traffic

The driver's name was not released, but the CHP said he was arrested for drunken driving and causing injury while evading officers.

A man who had been chased by CHP officers at speeds above 100 miles per hour executed a U-turn on the San Diego (405) Freeway Sunday, and drove into oncoming traffic for three minutes before his SUV crashed head-on into an oncoming car.

A baby, a man and a women were injured in the 2:15 a.m. crash, on the 405 near Victory Boulevard, CHP officers said. The wrong-way driver was pinned in his Toyota Sequoia SUV and suffered major injuries, including missing teeth, a broken arm and a broken leg.

The chase began on the eastbound Ventura (101) Freeway, where "a unit saw the vehicle speeding up to 100 miles per hour and weaving and tried to stop it. But it wouldn't stop and the pursuit began," CHP Officer Alex Rubio in the Traffic Management Center.

Find out what's happening in Echo Park-Silver Lakewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The driver apparently exited the eastbound freeway and then got on the westbound 101, and took the ramp to the southbound 405, according to the CHP.

The SUV driver made a U-turn and sped north in the southbound lanes, past the 101 and Oxnard Boulevard bridges. CHP officers did not go the wrong way, but the LAPD chopper crew notified them that the suspect vehicle had a head-on collision three minutes after the U-turn, on the 405 approaching Victory Boulevard.

Find out what's happening in Echo Park-Silver Lakewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The wrong-way Toyota smashed into a 2011 Toyota Highlander SUV, and both were demolished, with the wrong-way driver pinned inside. Firefighters freed him and took him to the UCLA Reagan Medical Center.

His name was not released, but the CHP said he was arrested for drunken driving and causing injury while evading officers.

The three victims were identified only as a two-month-old baby, 28-year- old woman and 30-year-old man from Lawndale. The man had a broken hand, and the women and baby had lesser injuries.

—City News Service


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.

More from Echo Park-Silver Lake