A man suspected of driving under the influence crashed into an apartment building in Downey, ending a police pursuit that began within the Bell Gardens city limits, officials said.
Bell Gardens Police Department officers spotted the suspect about 12 a.m. and tried to conduct a traffic stop, the agency said.
A pursuit ensued when the driver allegedly failed to yield.
The officers chased the vehicle into the city of Downey, where the vehicle plowed into an apartment building, officials said.
The wall shattered from the impact, shows a video from the scene at Wiley Burke Avenue near Florence Avenue. The home’s interior also sustained heavy damages.
“I just kept on hearing sirens, sounded like a high-speed chase,” recalled Gustavo Reynoso, a resident in the area. “It just kept coming closer and closer until I heard a hard impact.”
Reynoso said he and his wife looked out the window and saw a Chevy Avalanche upside-down against the wall of an apartment unit.
“All of a sudden, we see cops pointing guns at the persons inside the vehicle, the passenger and the driver. They were yelling at them to come out with their hands up,” Reynoso said.
A man who lives in the apartment tried to get out through the window when the door didn’t open, Reynoso said.
The officers told him not to exit as they worked on detaining the people inside the Chevy, Reynoso added.
“The woman came out first, she was the passenger,” he said. “Then the driver came out.”
The driver was arrested on suspicion of DUI, according to police. His passenger was released after an interview, officials said.
Authorities did not provide information on any injuries. Officials did not release the identities of those involved.
KTLA’s Nancy Fontan contributed to this report.
