A truck that was reported stolen led police on a slow-speed chase, during which it lost a tire before catching fire, prompting the driver to get out and surrender to police.
Officers told KABC that the pursuit began Thursday afternoon in Kern County after a big rig reported stolen began leading officers on a chase down the Interstate 5 into Los Angeles County.
During the pursuit, the truck’s speed was approximately 15 mph, KNBC reported.
Authorities made several attempts to stop the vehicle, and deployed spike strips on the road, KTTV reported. The truck hit one of the strips, but that only resulted in the loss of one tire, on the front passenger side of the truck.
The driver continued driving on the rim, dragging the tire beneath the vehicle, as visible in the video recorded by KABC’s helicopter. Eventually, the tire came loose from the truck, but the driver continued to drive on the rim, which was visibly grinding into the road.
Video courtesy of KABC:
Images from KABC’s helicopter appear to show the suspect holding a piece of paper up to the windshield as if to relay a message, but it is unclear what, if anything, was written on the paper.
Video captured by KTTV’s helicopter showed the moment when the driver’s side front wheel of the truck caught fire, with flames quickly growing. At that point, the driver stopped the truck and got out with his hands up to surrender to officers.
Video courtesy of KTTV:
Flames soon engulfed the truck, as visible from the video recorded by KNBC’s helicopter.
Police did not identify the suspect.
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