Chinese student leads Los Angeles police on high-speed chase
Student claims that he "obtained his driver's license about two months ago"
PUBLISHED : Friday, 21 February, 2014, 10:28pm
UPDATED : Friday, 21 February, 2014, 10:39pm
Jeremy Blum [email protected]
The 18-year-old UC Irvine driver. Photo: Screenshot via NBC Los Angeles
An 18-year-old Chinese driver and two passengers were pulled from a BMW by police after a lengthy chase along California's Pacific Coast Highway on the evening of February 20.
Police originally flagged the BMW at around 8.30pm outside of downtown Los Angeles for allegedly weaving between traffic lanes and speeding, NBC Los Angeles reported.
After the BMW driver ignored police requests to stop, a chase reaching speeds of up to 192km/h on two Los Angeles freeways began.
Officers finally managed to stop the BMW by performing a precision immobilisation technique, a pursuit tactic that requires colliding with an escaping car's back bumper.
The manoeuvre caused the vehicle to swerve to the shoulder of the road, where the driver finally stopped and surrendered at about 9.15pm.
The driver was identified in reports as "an 18-year-old UC Irvine student from China".
He told NBC reporters after his arrest that his BMW "was a new car and he obtained his driver's license about two months ago".
Allegedly, he also said that he was "afraid of the California Highway Patrol" and "did not understand" why he had been chased.
The identity of the student, his two passengers and the charges they face have yet to be revealed by UC Irvine or local authorities.
According to NBC's report, the student obeyed the majority of traffic lights during the chase, indicating that the charges he faces will likely be less severe than they would be otherwise.
