Pursuit Suspect Chases Police In High-Speed Wrong-Way Freeway Crash

WESTWOOD, CA — A woman driving a van caused havoc on the San Diego (405) Freeway Friday morning, driving on the wrong side of the road and ramming several vehicles with police in pursuit, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

The wild chase at speeds of more than 100 mph ended in a spectacle and the woman's arrest after she climbed atop a big rig she had crashed into with blood streaming down her face.

It began with a disturbance report at Fourth and Rose avenues in Venice shortly before 4:20 a.m., according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

The suspect drove away in a van with Missouri license plates, reportedly striking an LAPD patrol car along the way and injuring two officers, KABC 7 reported.

At one point, she turned the van around and chased a patrol vehicle down a street in an effort to ram it, KTLA reported. Then she headed onto the freeway.

Police tried to stop the van, at times using PIT maneuvers that damaged the vehicle, but the suspect turned in circles and kept going, driving the wrong way onto the northbound freeway lanes multiple times and speeding away at nearly 100 mph with smoke coming from under the hood.

The van then slammed directly into multiple cars and a big rig at a high speed and stopped near the Wilshire Boulevard exit. The driver emerged from the pileup, got out of the van and climbed onto the hood of a stopped big rig, where she could be seen with blood on her face. Officers then took her into custody.

Los Angeles Fire Department personnel sent to the scene took one person to a hospital in unknown condition, the LAFD reported. The LAPD reported that multiple officers were treated for injuries. The woman's name was not immediately available.

Traffic lanes were blocked in the area, and the investigation was continuing after daybreak. The California Highway Patrol issued a SigAlert as of 5:30 a.m. for an unknown duration. As of 8:30 a.m., traffic remained at a crawl.

City News Service and Patch Staffer contributed to this report.