A 30-year-old Chatsworth man suspected of stabbing his mother and pushing her out of a moving car, then leading deputies on a reckless chase that included a carjacking, a kidnapping and the theft of sheriff's car, is hospitalized and in police custody.
Shortly before 6 p.m. in the Santa Clarita Valley, Aaron Clay Tanner stabbed his mother multiple times and then pushed her from their moving Toyota Scion where the Golden State Freeway merges with the Antelope Valley Freeway, according to sheriff's Capt. Mike Parker.
Just a few miles later at the Newhall off-ramp, Tanner crashed his Scion into a PT Cruiser in a park-and-ride lot.
The suspect abandoned his Scion, allegedly beat the woman, and took off in her car with her 4-year-old child sitting in the rear seat. Tanner crashed the Cruiser into another motorist before leaving the lot but continued down the road.
Another deputy spotted the stolen PT Cruiser about four miles away, near Carl Boyer Avenue and Golden Valley Road in Canyon Country, Parker said. The PT Cruiser rear-ended another vehicle, then Tanner backed into a tree, disabling the vehicle.
Deputies from the Santa Clarita Sheriff's substation set up a dragnet and quickly located the suspect four miles away near Newhall Ranch and Bouquet Canyon Roads. He had rear-ended another vehicle with the Cruiser and then backed into a tree, disabling the vehicle.
Tanner ran off into a groomed trail area used for biking and walking, and hid from police. A deputy spotted the abandoned Cruiser and approached the vehicle on foot to check on the boy. Tanner circled around the deputy and took the squad car and sped off.
Local
Get Los Angeles's latest local news on crime, entertainment, weather, schools, COVID, cost of living and more. Here's your go-to source for today's LA news.
Soon, the stolen patrol car was spotted at Newhall Ranch Road and Santa Clarita Road in Saugus. Tanner was speeding toward the end of a cul-de-sac when he crashed the patrol car through a 4-foot-tall brick wall. The car went down a 100-foot embankment, rolling several times and bursting into flames.
It wasn't over.
Deputies scrambled down the hillside and found Tanner allegedly trying to get to the police shotgun that was thrown from the squad car during the crash. Deputies fired Taser electrodes into Tanner and shocked him before he could get the gun, said Parker.
Still, Tanner put up a fight, but deputies were "able to overcome his resistance, arrest him, and stop his violent rampage," added Parker.
Some deputies reported the suspect bit them before he was subdued.
No one was seriously injured, except Tanner and his mother.
The boy in the PT Cruiser had a scratch under an eye, and his mother suffered a blow to the face, according to Parker. The motorist struck in the park-and-ride lot suffered minor injuries.
Tanner's mother was hospitalized early Saturday with multiple stab wounds to the upper body, Sgt. Dan Peacock of the sheriff's Santa Clarita Valley Station said, adding that she should survive.
Tanner was hospitalized in serious condition, said Peacock.
He will be booked on suspicion of attempted murder, kidnapping, carjacking, attempted carjacking, auto theft, assault with a deadly weapon, evading arrest, and felony hit-and-run with injuries, according to Parker.
Six deputies were treated for a injuries, including being bitten by the suspect on the legs and hands when they were handcuffing him, said Peacock. All six had been treated and released by early Saturday.
