Pursuit by CHP ends with horrific crash in Cypress, La Palma area

By Brian Hews

A high speed chase ended in a horrific crash in Cypress on Sunday afternoon that also lead to shots being fired by law enforcement officials.

On Sunday, at around 4:12p.m, California Highway Patrol officers responded to a report of a collision on the westbound 91 freeway, near Knott Avenue. Upon their arrival, California Highway Patrol Officers found a silver colored Dodge pick-up that was facing the wrong way.

According to information obtained by Los Cerritos Community Newspaper, the officer attempted to contact the driver of the vehicle only to have the vehicle flee from the scene of the collision. The officer followed behind the vehicle and attempted to make an enforcement stop. The driver of the vehicle did not yield to the lights and siren of the California Highway Patrol Officer that was following in a marked black and white patrol car.

When the driver of the vehicle failed to stop, a pursuit ensued and the suspect vehicle was followed as it exited the freeway at Valley View Street and then traveled through a residential tract, eventually traveling southbound on Walker Street.

Officers from the La Palma Police Department monitored the pursuit as it traveled through their city, then Cypress Police Officers monitored the pursuit as it entered the Cypress city limits. La Palma and Cypress are nestled next to each other in West Orange County.

CHP Officers continued to follow the vehicle as it traveled on a number of city streets. At one point, the suspect vehicle came to a stop to a stop and CHP officers attempted to have the driver exit the vehicle. The driver refused to exit the vehicle and instead, accelerated in reverse, striking one of the police vehicles before fleeing again. Officers again followed after the suspect vehicle as it traveled through streets, eventually traveling onto southbound Walker Street.

The CHP conducted a “Pursuit Intervention Technique” (P.I.T.) on the suspect vehicle, southbound Walker Street, at Marion. The P.I.T. maneuver was successful in that the suspect vehicle came to a stop. As uniformed officers approached the vehicle, the suspect driver attempted to flee again, and began driving towards the direction of the marked black and white police cars. CHP officers fired at least one round; however the suspect was not struck.

The officers were subsequently able to take the suspect into custody without further incident. There were no injuries sustained by any of the officers. The suspect was taken into custody and transported to a local hospital for complaint of pain not related to the officer-involved shooting.

The investigation into the incident is continuing and is being conducted by the Cypress Police Department. If there are any witnesses to this incident, they are asked to call the Cypress Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Bureau, at (714) 229-6631.

The name of the suspect has not been released as of Midnight on Sunday.