Both directions of the Golden State (5) Freeway in Sylmar reopened Friday morning, more than six hours after the end of a pursuit that began in Palmdale and ended with a deputy-involved shooting and two suspects being taken into custody.

Palmdale station deputies spotted the vehicle and believed the driver was under the influence. They attempted to stop the vehicle, but the driver fled and deputies went into “tracking mode” after a brief pursuit, according to Lt. Robert Westphal of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

“The suspect’s vehicle crashed into a gate at the Lockheed Martin facility in Palmdale and (the driver) drove through several fences, at which time there were shots fired from the suspect’s vehicle,” Westphal told reporters about 5 a.m. “The suspect vehicle crashed back out onto the highway and deputies initiated a pursuit.”

Deputies began their pursuit on the southbound Antelope Valley (14) Freeway near Avenue S about 9:45 p.m. Thursday, according to Deputy Marvin Crowder of the Sheriff’s Information Bureau.

During the pursuit, the driver and passenger in the suspect vehicle fire several rounds at an LASD helicopter, Westphal said.

The vehicle hit a spike strip deployed by deputies near Sierra Highway about 10 p.m. but continued southbound for another 20 minutes and eventually transitioned from the Antelope Valley Freeway to the southbound Golden State Freeway, where the vehicle’s front driver side tire began sparking and the suspect stopped the vehicle and fled.

The driver got out of the vehicle and flashed a handgun, described as a “Tec 9,” at deputies, at which time a deputy-involved shooting occurred and the suspect was hit in the leg, Westphal said.

The driver dropped the weapon then tumbled down a freeway embankment from the transition road from the southbound Golden State Freeway to the Foothill (210) Freeway, regained his balance and ran across the southbound lanes of the Golden State Freeway, jumped the center median and began running across the northbound lanes.

The suspect was clipped by a vehicle, then another three vehicles and a pickup truck narrowly missed striking the suspect as he hobbled across the freeway.

Deputies chased the suspect on the freeway, tackled him and took him into custody, Westphal said. One deputy was knocked to the ground by a vehicle as a driver attempted to stop, but was not seriously injured.

The suspect was taken to a hospital by paramedics with stable vital signs, Westphal said.

A second suspect was ordered out of the vehicle and taken into custody. Another gun was found in the vehicle.

The names of the suspects were not disclosed.

The north- and southbound lanes of the Golden State Freeway at the Antelope Valley Freeway reopened about 5 a.m., but the transition road from the southbound Golden State Freeway to the Foothill Freeway remained closed until further notice, the California Highway Patrol said.

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