The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department released new details Saturday about a dramatic car theft and kidnapping that left three young children injured and ended with a pursuit and crash in Malibu Friday night.
Deputies said the ordeal began around 6:40 p.m. outside a convenience store on the 5100 block of East Olympic Boulevard in East Los Angeles. A mother parked her gray Chrysler sedan with the engine running and her children — ages 8, 6 and 2 — inside, while the children’s father waited nearby in another car.
Moments later, a male adult suspect allegedly jumped into the Chrysler and drove off with the kids inside. The father tried to intervene but was dragged a short distance before falling, suffering upper-body injuries, according to LASD.
Deputies quickly located the vehicle and tried to stop the driver, who fled. A pursuit stretched across East L.A. roadways and onto Interstate 10 before ending at Pacific Coast Highway and Kanan Dume Road in Malibu, where the suspect crashed into four other vehicles, investigators said.
The man abandoned the Chrysler and ran barefoot up a steep embankment into a residential area, stripping off clothing as he fled through the mountains. CHP officers apprehended him and transported him to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. He remains hospitalized as of Saturday, and his identity will be confirmed as charges are prepared.
All three children were taken to a hospital for observation with non-life-threatening injuries. Another woman involved in the Malibu crash was also hospitalized.
Formal charges are pending as the booking process is completed.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Detective Peter Levine or the East Los Angeles Sheriff’s Station at 323-264-4151. Anonymous tips may be submitted to Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (8477) or at lacrimestoppers.org.
Luis Zuniga and Sofia Pop Perez contributed to this report.
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