A woman driver led officers on a wild half-hour chase through the San Fernando Valley in a stolen vehicle Thursday, backed into a patrol car and injured an officer before she was arrested in Van Nuys, police said.
She finally brought the car to a halt and calmly stood up atop the driver’s seat and through the sunroof, smoking a cigarette while staring at surrounding officers before she was forced out and arrested.
The chase began about 2:15 a.m. in the area of Nordhoff Street and Sepulveda Boulevard when officers attempted to stop the woman on suspicion that she was driving a stolen vehicle.
During the chase, she came to a sudden stop and, as officers were exiting their vehicle, she backed up at a high speed and crashed into the patrol car, said Sgt. Ron Fisher of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Van Nuys Division.
The officer was taken to a hospital for treatment and was later released, police said.
The woman eventually stopped in the area of Haskell Avenue and Vanowen Street.
No other details about her identity or motive for stealing the car were available.
—City News Service