Driver arrested after high-speed car chase from San Diego to Los Angeles, standoff at LAX

Wyatte Grantham-Philips, USA TODAY
·2 min read
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After a high-speed chase spanning three California counties and an hour-long standoff at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), a driver was taken into custody Thursday afternoon, authorities and local media report.

Police did not release the name of the person in custody as of early Thursday.

According to NBC 4 Los Angeles and FOX 11 LA, the chase started in San Diego – and then moved to Orange and Los Angeles Counties, with California Highway Patrol officers pursuing the suspect.

Complete details on why the driver was being pursued were not immediately clear, but FOX 5 KSWB-TV said authorities initially tried to stop the vehicle for reckless driving in San Diego at around 11:40 a.m. PT.

The gray Nissan Altima was seen running red lights and making other traffic violations, NBC 4 reported.

Watch: Dashcam captures Florida police chasing down alleged car thief through backyards, fences 

Eventually, the chase came to a halt on an onramp near LAX around 1 p.m. PT – at Sepulveda and Century boulevards, NBC 4 said, close to the airport's entrance. 

LAX is about 120 miles away from San Diego, where authorities initially tried to stop the driver.

Traffic builds up outside terminals at the Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, Friday, July 1, 2022.
Traffic builds up outside terminals at the Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, Friday, July 1, 2022.

In video footage captured by Sky FOX, the driver is seen running out of the vehicle. The suspect moved onto the guardrail, and, according to a Los Angeles Fire Department alert, threatened to jump. LAFD emergency personnel set up an inflatable air rescue cushion on the street below.

More than an hour later, the standoff ended. Shortly after 2:40 p.m. ET, the LAFD tweeted the subject was in custody and the situation was "de escalating."

LAX confirmed this on Twitter, after multiple updates that cautioned travelers about the police activity. The airport said flights were not impacted, but traffic was heavy and delayed.

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"Police activity around the airport has concluded and the impacted roadways will be opening as soon as possible," LAX wrote at 2:49 p.m. PT.

USA TODAY has reached out to the San Diego Police Department and California Highway Patrol for further information.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Car chase from San Diego to Los Angeles: Arrest after standoff at LAX