News

Actions

Driver takes selfies with bystanders, does ‘doughnuts’ during wild police chase

Posted at 5:22 PM, Apr 07, 2016
and last updated 2016-04-07 19:22:13-04

LOS ANGELES - A driver wanted for burglary led California authorities on a chase for more than an hour and a half through much of the greater Los Angeles area Thursday.

At one point, helicopter video shows him doing "doughnut" maneuvers on the rain-slicked Hollywood surface streets and then being warmly greeted by bystanders who took selfies with the car in South L.A.

A Ford Mustang led authorities on a pursuit that included doughnuts in Hollywood on April 7, 2016. (Credit: KTLA)

A Ford Mustang led authorities on a pursuit that included doughnuts in Hollywood on April 7, 2016. (Credit: KTLA)

About 3:30 p.m., the driver and his passenger were taken into custody in a residential neighborhood by Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department deputies, according to KTLA.

The chase worked its way from the San Gabriel Valley onto surface streets in South Los Angeles, speeding through neighborhoods onto the northbound 110 Freeway, aerial video from Sky5 showed.

Squeezing by traffic on the freeway's shoulders, the car headed onto the northbound 101 Freeway, exiting at Hollywood Boulevard.

In Hollywood, with the top down, the convertible did "doughnuts" in the street before heading onto the winding roads of the Hollywood Hills.

A TMZ tour bus briefly blocked in the driver of a Ford Mustang in a pursuit on the 101 Freeway on April 7, 2016. (Credit: KTLA)

A TMZ tour bus briefly blocked in the driver of a Ford Mustang in a pursuit on the 101 Freeway on April 7, 2016. (Credit: KTLA)

The vehicle appeared to be a dark blue Ford Mustang with a black top with two people inside. At some point while in Hollywood, one of its front tires went flat.

The Mustang made its way from the Hollywood Hills back into Hollywood and then onto the southbound 101 Freeway, where it was briefly blocked in by a tour bus operated by celebrity news website TMZ. The Ford proceeded toward downtown L.A. and onto the southbound 110 Freeway about 3 p.m.

On surface streets in South L.A., looky-loos waved at the driver and his passenger.

Dozens came out to greet a pursuit driver and his passenger in South L.A. on April 7, 2016. (Credit: KTLA)

Dozens came out to greet a pursuit driver and his passenger in South L.A. on April 7, 2016. (Credit: KTLA)

Then, near 51st Street and Central Avenue about 3:30 p.m., the car stopped and was greeted with high-fives by bystanders, with several people posing for photos and sitting on the vehicle. Dozens gathered around the Mustang, and the driver exited.

Soon, deputies approached and the two people who were in the car were handcuffed.

The driver appeared to voluntarily walk backwards toward a deputy, hands behind his back. The passenger jumped out of the vehicle, turned around and was also taken into custody without incident.

The driver was wanted for a burglary out of Cerritos, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy Ryan Rouzan.

The vehicle was rented, according to DMV records.