Orange County

Perfect PIT Ends Police Chase of Suspected DUI Driver Dragging Spike Strip

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A police pursuit of a suspected DUI driver that started in the Willowbrook area Saturday evening featured a driver dragging a spike strip for about an hour before a PIT maneuver ended the chase in the South Park area.

Gil Leyvas and Newschopper4 Bravo were over the chase around 6:30 p.m.

The driver was suspected of driving under the influence, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

The driver was traveling at extremely slow speeds on Imperial Highway, parallel to the 105 Freeway for a significant portion of the pursuit, often doing u-turns and retracing where he had come from.

The driver increased speeds from time to time, but most the vehicle's tires were noticeably damaged. The car appeared to be entirely driving on metal rims as the chase progressed, with even those rims falling apart at times.

The silver car blew through at least one red light and did pick up speeds.

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The car proceeded to drive north into the Florence area around 7:10 p.m.

The pursuit finally came to an end shortly after 7:20 p.m. near the intersection of Avalon Boulevard and 52nd Street after a cruiser approached the car and performed a perfect PIT maneuver.

The driver then jumped out of the car and appeared to surrender but did appear to struggle with officers before being placed into a sheriff's vehicle.

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