Two Juveniles Arrested After Police Chase Stolen Car 12 Miles

After a high-speed, rush-hour chase on freeways and residential streets from Westminster to Lakewood, police on Tuesday arrested two juveniles in a stolen car.

The 12-mile chase reached speeds up to 75 mph, police said. On surface streets, the driver ran red lights and weaved over medians past traffic, police said.

“He was blowing stop signs like crazy and weaving in and out of traffic,” Westminster Police Lt. Bob Amren said.

The pair finally abandoned the car and ran. Police found one hiding under a bed at his mother’s house in Lakewood and the other hiding in a nearby carport, Amren said.

The 24-minute chase began at 5:52 p.m., when a caller reported an argument between the occupants of two cars at Magnolia Street and Hazard Avenue, Amren said. Two people took off in a white Oldsmobile; the other car disappeared.

Meanwhile, dispatchers who checked the Oldsmobile’s license plate discovered that the car had been stolen. A Westminster officer began the chase after he saw the car get on the Garden Grove Freeway. Other officers from several nearby cities joined the chase, which went through Los Alamitos, Westminster, Garden Grove, Long Beach, Lakewood and Hawaiian Gardens, police said. A Huntington Beach police helicopter also followed the Oldsmobile.

No one was injured.

The suspects, whose names were not released, are being held at Westminster jail on suspicion of possessing stolen property and evading arrest.