We L.A. natives are used to seeing a fair amount of police chases. The local news outlets are infamous for billing pursuits as *BREAKING NEWS,* and they follow, commentate on, and film these idiots being chased by helicopters and black & whites until the bitter end. Thankfully, the end that the typical chase meets isn't so bitter... The suspect usually gives up, or is spike stripped / pin maneuvered into submission, and is subsequently arrested. All is well in L.A., and now back to our regularly scheduled Judge Judy.
...That didn't happen tonight.
After a hugely bungled chase (on the collective part of the Pasadena and Covina PDs), the high/drunk/insane motorist ran red light after red light before eventually plowing directly into a car in a Covina intersection. It was horrific to watch.
I'll save you from having to find it on YouTube (unless you'd rather just bite the bullet), and share the particulars here: the chase started in Pasadena around 11pm and worked its way through the San Gabriel Valley. Newscasters said the driver was a DUI suspect, and though the car was registered in North Hollywood, they couldn't confirm if the driver was in fact the registered owner. They had between three and six squad cars in pursuit (depending on the stage of the chase) and a helicopter overhead - all pretty standard. Once the suspect entered West Covina, the Covina PD expressed an interest in using the pit maneuver to stop him... But by the time it was ok'd through proper channels, the suspect had driven out of Covina, and so the Covina PD essentially washed their hands of him. Some 20 minutes later, the suspect stopped the car, and for a few minutes it appeared that the chase might be coming to an end. At this point, the police had the perfect opportunity to either box in his vehicle or set up spike strips a little farther down the road, just in case he took off again... Which is exactly what happened. The police missed their opportunity, and instead of taking a proactive stance against this obviously unstable driver, they allowed him to continue on, running half-a-dozen (or more) red lights along the way. He eventually T-boned a little Mazda at 45-50mph just before midnight.
After the cars spun out and the suspect opened his door and kicked his dog out (??), he proceeded to resist arrest for the next 10 minutes. During this time, every officer on the scene tended to the suspect. Not one person looked after the dog that had run out into the street (and still hasn't been found, despite an effort by nearby residents), and - perhaps more importantly - not a single cop stopped to look into the innocent victim's mangled wreck. It was only after they had the suspect mildly subdued that one of them even bothered to check on the victim.
...And he didn't run to the victim's aid. Didn't appear to call for backup. Didn't try to pry open the car door. No. He shined his flashlight in through the cracked windshield, appeared to say something (apparently to the victim inside, who was unresponsive) and then sat back and waited for the fire department. When they arrived, the LAFD was equally as slow to respond, spending a good portion of the critical hour walking around the car and surveying the situation. An ambulance waited idly by.
One of the KCAL newcasters, perhaps reading my mind, inquired "maybe this is the wrong thing to say, but shouldn't there be some sort of, I don't know, expediency?" Yes, yes there should have been. But there wasn't. KCAL pulled back on their helicopter camera, and it became apparent they believed the victim was dead on impact, thus explaining the incredibly lackadaisical approach by the first responders. They cut the coverage off shortly thereafter.
Here's my question: even if you *think* someone didn't survive a crash, don't you make every effort to be quick & responsive and MAKE SURE??
As luck would have it, ABC and KNX-1070 have both reported that the victim miraculously survived... no thanks to the LAPD and LAFD.
The pursuit came to an end in Covina, where the suspect T-boned a car at the intersection of Puente Street and Barranca Avenue.
The condition of the victim, a woman, was not immediately known. However, police said she is believed to be alive.
KNX newsradio reported that the victim was brought to County USC Hospital - a good 30-40 minute drive from West Covina. I watched the CBS News feed on Ustream, and the ambulance drove on in silence; no sirens, no emergency lights. Despite optimistic reports to the contrary, I found the grim visual evidence sobering. If this person is in fact alive, it is truly a miracle... Especially considering that no one - from the cops, to the fire department, to the damn paramedics, hastened to save her.
. . .
I'm finding it hard to sleep tonight. My thoughts are with her family.
PS
If anyone reads this and has updates, feel free to tweet them at me, or post them here. Also, if anyone knows what became of the dog, I'd love to hear about it.
UPDATE: (Tues 10:53am)
According to CBS News, the driver of the Mazda is in moderate condition -- she made it through the crash with a fractured neck and broken pelvis. The driver suspected of DUI has been identified -- Edgar Angarita, 45, who is being charged with felony evading. He's lucky that's ALL.
