Hit-And-Run Suspect In Custody After High-Speed Pursuit, Standoff
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — A hit-and-run suspect who led police on a high-speed chase from the San Fernando Valley to the Antelope Valley was arrested after a standoff with CHP officers Monday evening.
LAPD and CHP officers were in pursuit of the suspect, wanted for reckless driving in Northridge, when the driver committed a hit-and-run felony at Nordhoff and Corbin shortly after 5 p.m., according to a LAPD spokesperson.
The vehicle, a dark gray Ford F-150 without plates, began traveling northbound on the 14 Freeway around 6 p.m., reaching speeds over 120 mph.
The suspect, identified as 33-year-old Sean Christopher Druschel, exited to surface streets in Lancaster around 6:10 p.m. and lost control of the vehicle, resulting in a collision with a patrol car.
Druschel managed to drive into a gated community, where one of the vehicle's two occupants fled on foot.
The pursuit continued into Quartz Hill and Palmdale, where he plowed head-on into a stopped car. The two occupants of that vehicle, a father and daughter, were ordered to leave the scene by officers as they closed in on the suspect at Rancho Vista and 25th.
Smoke could be seen coming from the suspect vehicle as it sat at the intersection. Druschel eventually crawled out of the truck and backed up toward officers, who placed him in custody.
A CHP spokesperson told CBS2/KCAL9 the suspect was trying to light a pipe that may have contained illegal drugs while inside the vehicle, causing smoke to billow from the cab.
The unidentified passenger who fled on foot from the vehicle was also taken into custody after running into a home. CHP officers are investigating if she knew the homeowner.
The father and daughter struck by the suspect vehicle were not harmed.
Druschel was being held on $100,000 bail at the Lancaster Sheriff's Station.
