(Warning: This footage is disturbing)
A man is dead after stealing a law enforcement cruiser, leading authorities on a high-speed chase, and then jumping out of the moving vehicle for no reason that was immediately apparent from news footage or an incident report. The driver, who the California Highway Patrol only identified under the placeholder name “John Doe,” died from injuries after officials took him to Antelope Valley Hospital, according to the document.
On Tuesday, at approximately 11:38 a.m., California Highway Patrol responded to a call about a red Toyota Corolla driving recklessly on northbound Interstate 5. The vehicle eventually crashed on I-5, north of State Route 126, authorities said.
Investigators said that the driver John Doe, however, stole a responding officer’s cruiser.
“A CHP officer arrived on scene and began an initial investigation for the traffic crash,” troopers wrote. “During the investigation, a young male adult that was driving the Toyota Corolla, entered the Officer’s CHP patrol vehicle and fled the scene. The driver continued traveling on the northbound Interstate-5 freeway and transitioned to State Route -138 eastbound, at a high rate of speed.”
Helicopter footage from KTTV shows the vehicle making its way down the road, even crossing into the other lane. At one point, the left rear tire fell off after apparently going flat, and yet the vehicle continued speeding along.
Soon, the driver’s side door opened.
“For unknown reasons, the driver jumped out of the moving patrol vehicle and landed in the roadway causing injuries, between 90th Street West and 70th Street West,” troopers wrote in their incident report.
As seen in the footage, he jumped feet first, but the momentum from the cruiser launched him to his back. He skidded and tumbled on the asphalt. The cruiser finally came to a stop after it bisected a utility pole.
Officers swarmed the man. They tried to save his life, according to the incident report.
“Anyone with information regarding this incident is encouraged to contact Officer J. Greengard at the CHP Newhall Area office at (661) 600-1600,” they wrote.
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