Rush hour in South Los Angeles turned particularly grueling Thursday morning as LAPD units chased down a hearse carrying a casket and corpse that had been stolen from the front of a church Wednesday night, CBS 2 is reporting.
The chase began at 7:43 a.m. near USC at Exposition Boulevard and Figueroa Street when a witness reported seeing the 2017 Lincoln Navigator that had been stolen the previous evening from St. Anthony’s Greek Orthodox church in unincorporated Pasadena carrying a casket with a woman’s body inside. The pursuit ended about one minute later when the fleeing vehicle smashed into an as yet unidentified object on the southbound 101 Freeway near the Vernon Avenue exit.
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— CBS Los Angeles (@CBSLA) February 27, 2020
The L.A. County Sheriff’s Department confirmed that a suspect was taken into custody and that at least one person was taken to the hospital. The front of the hearse was crushed in the accident, but police haven’t said how many (if any) other vehicles were involved in the wreck.
“Huge THANK YOU to the good samaritan that called law enforcement when they saw the stolen vehicle,” the department tweeted. “We also want to send condolences to the family members of the deceased person, who had to deal with this tragedy.”
Please allow #LASD a few minutes to confirm info regarding the #BreakingNews in the pursuit involving the black Lincoln Navigator, that may possibly be involved in the incident from last night from the unincorporated area #Pasadena. As soon as we have details we will provide it. pic.twitter.com/lCmZVgX51e
— LA County Sheriffs (@LASDHQ) February 27, 2020
All southbound lanes on the 101 Freeway were shut down while police cleared scene and were soon reopened. From there, a the hearse was taken to the tow yard where the body and coffin were transferred to another vehicle.
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