Driver of stolen box truck in custody after crashing into barrier on 5 Freeway in pursuit

The driver of a stolen box truck was taken into custody Monday after trying to drive through a concrete barrier during a pursuit, then abandoning the vehicle before fleeing into a Boyle Heights neighborhood.

The truck pursuit began after 9:30 a.m. near Castaic after Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies tried to pull him over for a stolen vehicle violation, authorities said.

Deputies and the California Highway Patrol followed the truck along the 5 Freeway as it drove between lanes and swerved. The truck crossed into Sylmar, Burbank and Glendale.

At one point, the truck, traveling on the shoulder, appeared to be straddling a freeway wall.

Finally, as the truck reached heavy traffic in Boyle Heights, the driver appeared to drive off the freeway, caught between a row of trash cans and the traffic.

He swerved onto a dirt shoulder and rammed through the concrete barrier at Mission Road.

The driver bolted out of the passenger’s side, ran into freeway lanes and off the road into a neighborhood on Boyle Avenue.

After running for a few minutes, the driver stopped and hid between a tree and a Jeep.

Tossing his hat off, the driver lay on the street until several CHP officers took him into custody.

Caltrans was trying to repair the concrete barrier before traffic worsened.

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