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Woman With 2 Dogs In Stolen Motor Home Leads Police On Wild Pursuit

TARZANA (CBSLA) — A woman with two dogs on her lap in an allegedly stolen motor home led police on a wild pursuit through the San Fernando Valley Tuesday night.

The suspect reportedly stole the vehicle from Simi Valley before wreaking havoc through streets beginning near Santa Clarita, eventually ending in a crash in a residential neighborhood of Tarzana. She was later identified as 52-year-old Julie Ann Rainbird of Winnetka.

The chase began just after 7 p.m. in the Towsley Canyon area, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

During the pursuit, the suspect drove into a mall parking lot in Northridge and crashed into a palm tree, ripping off the windshield and passenger side of the vehicle.

The suspect later crashed into multiple vehicles during the high-speed chase and nearly missed many others.

A black vehicle was struck by the suspect in the motorhome while traveling through an intersection in the area of Tampa Avenue and Ventura Boulevard.

As the suspect drove through city streets, a dog was seen hanging out of the open windshield. The dog later lept from the open windshield, hitting the street, and was seen running out of the street.

The suspect stopped shortly after the dog fell out and appeared to be briefly looking for it before continuing the pursuit.

She continued to erratically drive the motor home with debris and liquid flying out onto the road.

The chase ended around 7:35 p.m. when the suspect crashed into a white vehicle backing out of a driveway in a Tarzana neighborhood near the intersection of Tampa Avenue and Wells Drive.

The suspect then exited the vehicle with another dog and fled from the motor home on foot but was quickly detained by police.

A male driver of the white vehicle exited and appeared injured while he laid on his back in a driveway. He was taken to a hospital with major injuries, according to the CHP.

According to California Highway Patrol, both dogs involved are now safe in the custody of Animal Control with non-life-threatening injuries. The dog that fell out of the motorhome, a mastiff mix, was treated for significant lacerations and soft tissue injuries. Both dogs were microchipped and in the custody of animal control, which announced Wednesday that Rainbird is not the registered owner.

Animal Services was attempting to contact the registered owner of the dogs but the phone number associated with the microchips was reportedly out of service.

Rainbird was eventually handcuffed to a gurney and taken to a hospital with minor injuries. Authorities say she had a $150,000 warrant for her arrest out of Burbank Superior Court, and a $160,000 warrant out of San Fernando.

Authorities say they are now trying to determine if Rainbird bought the RV using a stolen identity.

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