Posted on 01/04/2019 10:07:32 AM PST by Impala64ssa
Wild Pursuit and Standoff on 5 Fwy at Camp Pendleton
A driver who struck a man on a motorized scooter during a wild, three-hour pursuit that moved through three counties is in custody after a standoff with California Highway Patrol officers along the 5 Freeway at Camp Pendleton Thursday afternoon.
CHP officers pull a driver from a vehicle on the side of the 5 Freeway in the Camp Pendleton area after a lengthy pursuit and standoff on Jan. 3, 2019. (Credit: KTLA)
The driver — of an older-model maroon Honda Civic — had eluded authorities despite multiple PIT maneuver attempts made by Los Angeles Police Department officers.
CHP spokesman Officer Mark Latulippe identified the driver as 34-year-old Karl Flores, describing him as a veteran suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Officers could be seen approaching the vehicle with a K-9 about 2:13 p.m., removing Flores from inside and placing him in handcuffs. Officers had fired a "less-lethal" round from a shotgun at him, and the dog bit him, Latulippe said.
Flores appeared to receive medical aid as officers took him into custody on the side of the freeway.
Hostage negotiators had worked with Flores' wife to try to get him to surrender, Latulippe said.
The chase began in the area of Sepulveda and Washington boulevards about 10:50 a.m., when Culver City police officers tried to stop the Honda following a vehicle code violation "and suspicion that the vehicle was possibly stolen," according to a police news release.
But when police couldn't confirm if the vehicle was stolen and the motorist continued with "erratic driving," officers stopped chasing him out of concern for public safety.
Shortly after that, an LAPD helicopter spotted the Honda striking someone on a motorized scooter, and Culver City police again began chasing the Honda until Los Angeles officers could take over, the Culver City Police Department news release stated.
An LAPD cruiser attempts a PIT maneuver on a pursuit suspect on the Westside on Jan. 3, 2019. (Credit: KTLA) An LAPD cruiser attempts a PIT maneuver on a pursuit suspect on the Westside on Jan. 3, 2019. (Credit: KTLA)
The pedestrian was struck in the 7800 block of West Manchester Avenue in the Playa del Rey area about 11:15 a.m., according to the L.A. Fire Department.
The male victim, who had been on a scooter, suffered non-life threatening injuries, LAPD Sgt. Thomas Trandal told KTLA. The victim was "sucked up under" the car but was expected to be OK, the sergeant said.
The Honda had severe damage to its windshield and back window during the ensuing chase, aerial video from Sky5 showed.
The driver proceeded to lead several police cruisers on a slow-speed pursuit, driving about 25 mph through surface streets. About 11:45 a.m., LAPD officials attempted four PIT maneuvers, but the driver continued, dragging the car's rear bumper. The Honda eventually began speeding up as the car continued to evade police.
The driver eventually got on the 405 Freeway in Playa Vista and continued south into Inglewood, Long Beach and then into Orange County, where he drove at regular freeway speeds. The driver continued on the 5 Freeway and eventually entered San Diego County.
A driver leading authorities on a multicounty pursuit stops on the 5 Freeway in Camp Pendleton on Jan. 3, 2019. (Credit: KTLA) A driver leading authorities on a multicounty pursuit stops on the 5 Freeway in Camp Pendleton on Jan. 3, 2019. (Credit: KTLA)
The Honda eventually stopped about 1:30 p.m. near the Las Pulgas Road exit in the Camp Pendleton area near Oceanside, aerial video showed.
Latulippe said the vehicle had run out of gas.
The plates on the 2002 Honda indicate it was registered to a Karl Flores, according to the Department of Motor Vehicles. That suggests the vehicle was not actually stolen, as police initially indicated.
Video footage obtained by KTLA later showed Flores sitting upright on a stretcher as he was unloaded from an ambulance at Tri-City Medical Center in Oceanside. There appeared to be blood stains on his face and bare chest.
A few hours later, authorities escorted the detainee from the hospital and loaded him into the back of a CHP SUV.
Javed Bava, president of the Islamic Center of Inglewood, said he got to know Flores after the suspect began attending his mosque about six or seven years ago.
Bava told KTLA he was "very sad" upon learning of Flores' involvement in the lengthy chase.
"If he had these issues, no one has paid attention to that," he said.
Pursuit suspect Karl Flores is unloaded from an ambulance at Tri-City Medical Center in Oceanside on Jan. 3, 2018. (Credit: San Diego News Video) Pursuit suspect Karl Flores is unloaded from an ambulance at Tri-City Medical Center in Oceanside on Jan. 3, 2018. (Credit: San Diego News Video)
At first, Flores was a "regular guy," Bava said. But then he stopped coming to the mosque for a while, and had changed once he returned.
Bava alleges that Flores assaulted a groundskeeper in 2016, and the man — in his 70s — was subsequently hospitalized for several days.
"He had drugs in his hand, and that's the time we came to the conclusion, 'OK, he's totally on the wrong path,' " Bava said. "But on the same token, his family keeps telling us that he has these mental issues, PTSD."
Others who worship there said Flores lived in an apartment behind the Islamic Center but was evicted several weeks ago, and that his wife left and took their baby with her.
It had been a while since Flores showed up at the mosque until two days ago, when he returned and was allegedly involved in another unprovoked attack on someone in the prayer hall.
"There are some nice people who tried to explain him, 'Hey took, take it easy, go away,' " Bava said of the latest incident. "He didn't do that, he didn't listen to that, and he started assaulting that person."
I watched this chase yesterday. That little Honda was one tough car. The third pit maneuver was more of a ram, but still he kept going.
“CHP spokesman Officer Mark Latulippe identified the driver as 34-year-old Karl Flores, describing him as a veteran suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.”
A cop AND a psychologist.....cool! /s/
From the article:
****The pedestrian was struck in the 7800 block of West Manchester Avenue in the Playa del Rey area about 11:15 a.m., according to the L.A. Fire Department.
The male victim, who had been on a scooter, suffered non-life threatening injuries, LAPD Sgt. Thomas Trandal told KTLA. The victim was “sucked up under” the car but was expected to be OK, the sergeant said. *****
So was he a pedestrian or a driving a scooter????????????
***I’m tired of PTSD being used as the cause of criminal behavior, drug abuse, etc.***
The one in our family used “combat stress” in WW II as an excuse for his alcoholism. One day he actually admitted he was an alcoholic at the age of 16, which was a year and six months before Prohibition ended.
Where’s the Sandra bullock “I’m gliding here!”
It’s better. Better movie
Get real discouraged when the press rushes to PTSD.
PTSD is a real thing. It does not cause sufferers to go out and kill people. It just doesn’t.
People throw round that term nd have no clue what the H-E-double toothpicks they’re talking about No clue
I m a registered nurse with decades of experience I still am not able in my scope of practice to make a diagnosis
Neither is a cop. Not a journalist. No
What? The Honda driver gets out of the car declaring he’s got PTSD and that he’s allowed to hit people?
No
It’s really bad
PTSD incident = medicated. I know people who have it and they are fine until they go off the meds. It’s less PTSD and more the meds.
There would be a lot more bodies if that were the reason....unless he sucks at it.
“the area of Sepulveda and Washington boulevards”
Tito’s Tacos! Since 1959.
OK, how is someone on a motorized scooter a “pedestrian”? Semantics, I know, but that’s considered a motorized vehicle under California vehicular law, right?
Soooo, Alexandria Occasional-Cortex learned that a local college was giving a Civics class.
Outraged, she went public on CNN and MSNBC, announcing that colleges should not only be tuition-free, but should teach about all automobiles.
[ “Javed Bava, president of the Islamic Center of Inglewood, said he got to know Flores after the suspect began attending his mosque about six or seven years ago.” ]
Nice catch. I was guessing he was Amish.
(here we go....)
a three-hour pursuit of a Honda Civic? that’s one for Ripley’s
Muzzi hits a pedestrian. That should be the headline.
p
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