A woman allegedly kidnapped by her ex-boyfriend in El Monte has been freed after a 21-mile highway chase through Los Angeles and Orange counties that at one point slowed to a crawl .
According to the El Monte Police Department, the man showed up at the woman’s workplace, in the 10300 block of Lower Azusa Road, shortly before 6 p.m. Saturday. The two men argued before the man forced the woman into his car, police said, and drove away without allowing her to exit. The woman called a friend, who tracked the car through the Find My iPhone app and contacted law enforcement.
A Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department helicopter located the car on the 5 Freeway in the area of Commerce and notified the California Highway Patrol.
CHP attempted a traffic stop, but the man continued driving, leading law enforcement on a chase for more than 20 miles.
“Spike strips were used to puncture the vehicle’s tires, causing it to become inoperable and fail” near Highway 405 and Westminster Avenue, police said in a news release.
But first, several law enforcement vehicles slowly followed the vehicle as it drove forward in a low-speed chase, KCAL News footage showed, until the car finally stopped.
The suspect and a woman in the passenger seat got out of the car, the video shows. The man approached the woman and hugged her while she spoke into her phone. He then slowly backed away towards the police, his arms raised, and surrendered. The woman was not injured, police said.
The suspect is in a treatment center on $100,000 bail, according to the sheriff’s department.
El Monte police said charges of kidnapping and felony fraud would be submitted to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Anyone with information is asked to contact the police department at (626) 580-2100.
