Stolen Heavy-Duty Truck Wrecks Multiple Cars While Fleeing From California Police

Police in Southern California helplessly pursued a stolen heavy-duty work truck as it wrecked into other cars, the suspect behind the wheel desperate to get away. Some have questioned why police didn’t respond with force, even deadly force, as the flatbed pickup sped through heavy traffic, the driver obviously caring nothing for the innocent lives he risked.

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Aerial footage of the chase shared by KTLA 5 shows the heavy-duty truck speeding along a surface road in Long Beach on March 28, going approximately 80 mph. The big, long pickup doesn’t exactly stop on a dime nor handle like a supercar, plus it’s far heavier than other passenger vehicles, so going that fast in it is extra dangerous.

As the driver encounters traffic in both lanes, he swerves to avoid collisions, almost spinning out in the process. But the guy makes a recovery, slows down, then nails it again, the truck going like a runaway freight train down the road once more.

Encountering stopped traffic at an intersection, the stolen vehicle suspect goes the wrong way and blows the red light, thankfully not coming close to hitting anyone. But he does get super close to other cars as he passes heavy traffic, unable to go the wrong way thanks to heavy traffic in that direction as well.

In the process, he scrapes the side of the work truck along a cement barrier, tempting fate and further wrecking the pickup owner’s livelihood.

Finally, coming across stopped traffic, barriers in the median, and unable to stop in time, the truck crashes into three cars. But the suspect pushes them out of the way, using the pickup like a battering ram.

This is when people are saying deadly force should be warranted – do you agree?

The work truck badly damaged and the front driver-side tire completely flat, our suspect just keeps pushing it. We don’t see any California Highway Patrol cars closing in to end the chase. Instead, the suspect goes the wrong way, barely missing several cars, then slamming head-on into a Toyota 4Runner before taking off yet again.

Then the truck sideswipes a crossover at about 60 mph, tearing the body panels up. Running another red light, he slams into two cars, badly damaging them and finally disabling the stolen pickup.

As the suspect tries strolling away like nothing happened, there are zero police visible – that’s a typical procedure in California. It takes about a minute and a half for the first CHP units to pull up to where the suspect is walking, finally arresting him.

Should CHP have done spike strips, a PIT maneuver, or something else to stop this guy sooner? Is this policy of following so far behind fleeing suspects preventing worse crashes? Tell us what you think.

Image via KTLA 5/YouTube