Stolen vehicle, pursuit suspect evades deputies before ditching vehicle in Fashion District

Authorities are in pursuit of a stolen vehicle suspect in East Los Angeles.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputies began pursuit of the suspect a little before 4:45 pm, though it was unclear what prompted them to engage in the first place.

According to deputies, the car was reported stolen out of Lakewood on Tuesday.

As the pursuit continued through the South Gate-East Los Angeles area, the suspect was only traveling at speeds up to 30 miles per hour.

With Sky9 over the pursuit, the driver of the vehicle could be seen leaning out of the window and holding out an object that appeared to be a booklet of some sort, though it wasn’t immediately clear what the item was.

A passenger could be seen sitting in the front passenger seat as well as a dog in the rear of the vehicle.

Deputies attempted both a spike strip and a PIT maneuver to stop the car, both of which proved unsuccessful.

Then, the suspect picked up speed – traveling nearly 80 miles per hour on surface streets, swerving around slower traffic and hurtling through opposite lanes – forcing deputies to call off the pursuit due to the danger it posed to the public.

At around 5:30 pm, the suspect finally came to a stop in the Fashion District area of ​​Downtown Los Angeles, where it appeared they collided with a light pole and fled on foot.