Driver talking on cell phone leads police on chase
The Associated Press
Article Last Updated: 07/02/2008 07:58:02 PM PDT
BEVERLY HILLS - A man who was pulled over for violating California's new hands-free cell phone law led police on a high-speed chase Wednesday in which he smashed into several parked cars and drove the wrong way onto the freeway.
An officer initially stopped the man in Beverly Hills because he was seen using a hand-held cell phone while driving a van, then he ran a check on the license plate and discovered the vehicle had been reported
stolen, Lt. Tony Lee said.
When the officer approached the van, the man took off "driving recklessly at a very high speed," Lee said.
During the pursuit, the van struck two cars but did not cause any serious injuries, he said.
The suspect then drove south for about half a mile on the northbound Interstate 405 before pulling over to an embankment. Lee said he tried to carjack another motorist before fleeing on foot to surface streets in West Los Angeles.
The man, whose name was not immediately released, was captured a block from the freeway, Lee said.
