What’s with people and U-Hauls lately? Local L.A. news station KTLA 5 reports an early morning police chase lead to a man stealing a U-Haul and then leading police back near where the chase began.
The truck was stolen in Buena Park, which is in Orange County. It’s unknown whether or not the truck had anything inside, or why the guy chose a U-Haul truck. Highway Patrol picked up the truck 14 miles from where it was stolen on the 605 freeway. It would have been easy to spot as it was a Super Mover. At 26 feet long it’s the largest moving truck offered by U-Haul.
At about 5:30 am, the driver suddenly exited and headed back south on interstate 5 then headed back to the 605 freeway. Seemingly driving in circles, the driver transitioned to the 91 freeway where Highway Patrol had a spike strip waiting for him. With the two front tires flat, the truck exited the freeway.
You’d think in a truck like this with that kind of damage, it would have come to a stop. But these things are built Ford F-650 tough and it kept going. Even with smoke coming from the tires, the driver got back on the freeway.
Before long, the damage overcame the truck though and the chase slowed to under 20 mph. With flames starting to appear at the wheels, the truck limped to a stop on the Bellflower Blvd exit off of the freeway. The driver fled as the flames from the wheels, engulfed the cab of the truck. He didn’t get far though. A perimeter was quickly set up by police around the area and the man soon surrendered to authorities without incident. There’s been no word on any motive. But apparently, he had fun. When he was caught, he was laughing. When asked if he had anything to say about what he did, his response was “Good Morning L.A.”