A police chase involving a stolen work vehicle that collided with an SUV in Van Nuys yesterday has left a female driver and her baby boy injured.
NBC in Los Angeles reports that the truck was reported stolen from a roofing crew in Redlands on Wednesday, December 2nd at approximately 1:00 p.m. when the thief stole a set of car keys from one of the roofers.
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The stolen vehicle driver took off and led police on a high-speed chase that extended for more than 70 miles. The pursuit came to an end at the intersection of Saticoy Street and Gloria Steet when the work truck slammed into a black SUV. The force of the impact from the crash sent the SUV into the fence of a nearby apartment complex.
Within moments, two Good Samaritans who witnessed the crash rushed to the aid of the SUV driver and her infant son and helped them get out of the wreckage of their vehicle.
It is believed that the baby may not have been injured in the collision. Paramedics took the baby and his mother by ambulance to an area hospital for evaluation. Both mother and son are expected to be ok.
The driver of the stolen work truck was taken into custody immediately after the crash.
According to Valstein Pfeifle, the roofing company owner, the suspect climbed up a ladder on the job site, stole the keys from a work bag, jumped off the roof, and took off in the truck.
However, the suspect didn’t realize that the cab of the truck was equipped with a Samsara anti-theft tracking app that gave Pfeifle a direct view inside the cab of the truck and the GPS coordinates of its location.
Pfeifle followed his truck and was in contact with California Highway Patrol officers during the chase. Pfeifle was at the scene immediately following the crash.
Both Pfeifle and CHP officers said that it was a miracle that someone wasn’t seriously injured or even killed in the accident.
“Thank God no one was killed, Pfeifle said, “I mean, it’s a horrific thing for, you know, all the people.”
Michael Luevano with the Altadena Office of the CHP told NBC reporters, “Wearing your seatbelts, airbags, child seats; they do work. They do save lives.”
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