Driver held after erratic police chase in Southland

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A driver who stole several cars, rammed police cruisers and hit other cars during an hourlong chase across Southern California was arrested after a chase that ended in smoke, flame and gunshots.

The wild chase across two counties began about 5 p.m., Wednesday, with reports of a sedan speeding erratically in Anaheim.

After a while, the driver fled that car and stole a parked van, which was captured on video smashing several times into a Fullerton police cruiser that blocked it until it managed to speed off.

The driver later abandoned the van and ran inside a home in Whittier, stole keys to a pickup truck parked in the driveway, and took off as people in the home who had confronted him were almost struck, KNBC-TV reported.

The pickup eventually lost a front tire, but the driver continued to weave erratically through traffics.

The truck ended up at a gas station after a Los Angeles County sheriff’s patrol car rammed the truck from behind.

By this point, more than a dozen patrol cars ringed the gas station but the truck still backed up and smashed into a patrol car, prompting authorities to fire several shots through the driver’s window.