LOS ANGELES (KCAL/KCBS/CNN) - Two police cruisers crashed in Los Angeles late Wednesday, but authorities say the people behind the wheel in two separate crashes were not officers but teens out for a joy ride.
A woman heard like a big crash, then a lot of cops and helicopters. The woman and her granddaughter live near Central and Adams where a police cruiser barreled into a car Wednesday night, sending a woman to the hospital.
At about the same time, a few miles away another cruiser jumped a curb and slammed into a building. “It was just a loud crashing noise... you could hear the metal twisting and everything but it literally shook the block,” a man said.
In both crashes, the drivers were not police officers. “He could barely move. I guess the impact shook him and had him kind of rattled,” a neighbor said. The neighbor, who didn't want to show his face on camera, says he saw two teens get out of the car and run. He posted video on Facebook.
Police say they ultimately took three juveniles into custody in connection to the two crashes. They say the incidents were set into motion when police realized two patrol cars were missing: One from the Central Traffic Division, the other from the South Bureau.
Later Wednesday night, a patrol officer spotted the two cruisers together and two separate chases started that ended with the crashes. “They stole a police car and they wrecked,” a man said.
Authorities are working to figure out how exactly the teens were able to get access to the cars. Sources say the three may be linked to the department's cadet program.
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