L.A. high-speed pursuit heads through SCV

A high-speed pursuit involving a man suspected of assault with a deadly weapon passed through the Santa Clarita Valley area on Wednesday.

The pursuit, according to Officer Matthew Cruz of the Los Angeles Police Department, began shortly after officers received a report at 12:23 p.m. of an assault on the 11200 block of Ilex Avenue in Pacoima.

“It looks like when officers arrived, they became involved in a pursuit,” Cruz said, adding that the suspect’s vehicle, a silver SUV, came back as stolen. “And that started at about 1:06 p.m.”

The suspect, with LAPD officers in tow, headed northbound on Interstate 5 and eventually merged onto the northbound side of Highway 14.

While hitting speeds anywhere between 100 mph and 130 mph, the vehicle drove through Newhall and into the Acton area.

At 1:31 p.m., Cruz said

LAPD officials terminated their pursuit, likely due to the unsafe speeds, and their aero unit was called off. But, live overhead footage from news helicopters at the scene showed officers with the California Highway Patrol continuing to follow closely behind the suspect.

At approximately 2 p.m., the suspect, for unknown reasons, began to slow his vehicle down. Upon reaching the Soledad Canyon Road exit on the southbound side of Highway 14, he jumped out of his vehicle and attempted to continue fleeing law enforcement on foot.

“The suspect jumped out of his car as it was moving, rolled on the ground, then hopped the guardrail,” said Officer Josh Greengard, a spokesman for the CHP Newhall Office. “We took chase and caught him in the bushes.”

As of the publication of this story, no injuries had been reported as a result of the pursuit and the suspect remained in law enforcement custody.