By Mary O’KEEFE

Deputies from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Dept.-Crescenta Valley Station are asking for the public’s help in finding two students who were at Ramsdell Avenue and Foothill Boulevard shortly after 3 p.m. on Monday when a vehicle, described as a black Ford Taurus, almost struck them. 

The vehicle was part of a pursuit that began in La Cañada Flintridge and ended in North Hollywood leaving numerous damaged vehicles in its wake. 

The pursuit started at about 2:49 p.m. when the Crescenta Valley Sheriff’s Station received a call concerning the driver of a vehicle who “appeared” to be driving while intoxicated. 

Deputies responded and found the vehicle on Foothill Boulevard; however, when one of the deputies activated the patrol unit’s lights and attempted to pull the vehicle over the driver “failed to yield” and drove away, which is when the pursuit began.  

“It is the policy of the LASD that pursuits are permitted only when the necessity of immediate apprehension outweighs the degree of danger created by the pursuit and only when in compliance with our policy and applicable state laws,” according to LASD. 

The driver continued to drive westbound on Foothill Boulevard.

“In front of Ross Dress for Less (in the 2100 block of Foothill Boulevard) the driver rear-ended an SUV,” said Sgt. John Gilbert of the CV Sheriff’s Station.

Some deputies responded to those in the SUV and got them out of harm’s way and others ordered the driver to get out of his vehicle. At this point deputies had their guns drawn. 

“He did not cooperate and then [the driver] put his vehicle in reverse and rammed into the patrol unit,” Gilbert said. 

The pursuit was off and driving again. At one point two teens in the crosswalk at Ramsdell Avenue and Foothill Boulevard had to jump out of the way as the driver sped by. 

By this time the driver had struck several vehicles during the pursuit. He continued along Foothill westbound then entered the 210 Freeway the wrong way using the Sunland Boulevard offramp. At one point he turned around and headed back onto Sunland Boulevard. He ended up on Lankershim Boulevard, continuing onto Vineland Avenue and Hortense Street. The vehicle slammed into a curb and stopped. A standoff then began. 

The pursuit lasted about 20 minutes and the standoff lasted about 70 minutes. LASD deputies had its crisis negotiation team and called in Special Enforcement Bureau. 

In the end the driver, a 31-year-old man, got in and out of his vehicle several times until finally he was tackled by deputies and arrested. He has been charged with two counts of assault with a deadly weapon. The investigation is ongoing.

CV Sheriff’s deputies are asking for any witnesses, specifically those two young students who were almost struck by the driver, to contact CV Sheriff’s at (818) 248-3464. 

Anyone whose vehicle may have been damaged by this driver are asked to  report it to their local law enforcement agency.