A police pursuit ended in Bassett after authorities received a report about a woman who took off with her children — who she does not have custody of — during a visit with them Tuesday, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
The woman was having a supervised visit with her kids at the Department of Children and Family Services office in Ladera Heights, when the monitor “turned her back” and the woman managed to leave with the kids, Sheriff’s Department Lt. Chris Johnson said.
Once authorities were informed around 1 p.m., they began tracking the woman down suing her cell phone, officials said. They tracked her to Whittier, and police there began searching for her.
A pursuit followed some time later, leading police to an area of Bassett near Avocado Heights, where the car being pursued crashed into a bus in the area of East Valley Boulevard and North Vineland Avenue.
The woman was apparently behind the wheel, with her two children in tow.
A man who was a passenger on the bus, Hugo Salgado, said the woman’s car appeared to cut the bus off before slamming into it. Then the woman ran out of the car, leaving her two small children inside.
Sky5 footage of the scene showed the car with its right side smashed up against a bus, as Sheriff’s Department patrol vehicles swarmed the area. Two law enforcement officials could be seen holding two small children who appear to be between infant- and toddler-aged.
Moments later, a woman can be seen getting handcuffed by officers as they appear to photograph her at the scene.
No further information has been released by the Sheriff’s Department.
KTLA’s Nidia Becerra contributed to this story.
