A Southern California woman led police on a dangerously high speed chase that ended up crossing international borders.
Authorities said the pursuit began shortly after 10:30 a.m. last week when deputies received a report that a gray 2004 Toyota Sienna had been taken from a sober living home in Thousand Oaks.
The situation escalated rapidly when a traffic stop in Simi Valley failed, allowing the driver to accelerate onto State Route 118.
From there, according to deputies, the woman behind the wheel guided the van onto a series of freeways, merging first onto the southbound 405 before continuing onto the 5 and eventually the 805.
For much of the pursuit, officials said her speeds stayed within or close to regular traffic flow, creating challenges for pursuing units but reducing the likelihood of immediate intervention.
California Highway Patrol units attempted multiple spike strip deployments, but each effort either missed the intended target or was aborted because of surrounding cars.
The chase continued steadily, captured live by ABC7’s aerial coverage as the minivan traversed nearly the entire expanse of Southern California.
CHP Sgt. Esteban Hernandez explained to the Los Angeles Times that concerns over public safety influenced a major decision near the end of the chase.
“We don’t want this car forcing its way through the entry, hurting other people,” he said, noting that units were canceled near the San Ysidro Port of Entry on Monday last week.
The vehicle ultimately reached the border just before 1:30 p.m. and crossed into Mexico.
No collision occurred at the port of entry, and no injuries were reported during the entire length of the pursuit, which covered roughly 155 miles.
On Nov. 11, the day after the pursuit, authorities learned that the driver, a 29-year-old Simi Valley woman, had reentered the United States.
The suspect, Alyssa Wilson, turned herself in to Ventura County deputies and was taken into custody without incident.
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Detectives from the East County Investigations Bureau met the suspect at the CHP San Diego Office, then transported her back to Ventura County.
Officials said she was booked into the Ventura County Jail, where her bail was set at fifty thousand dollars.
Elsewhere, police in New Jersey were dealing with a very different type of vehicular chaos that startled an entire condominium complex in the middle of the night.
According to WPVI, two 13 year old sisters took their mother’s white SUV for a joyride around 2:20 a.m. in the Canterbury Mews Condominiums.
The teens later told police they were bored, leading to a spontaneous decision that ended with a violent collision.
Surveillance video captured the SUV crashing into two air conditioning units, the back wall of a condominium, a fence, and finally a curb. The impact jolted residents from their sleep.
Neighbor Alisa DeMayo described the noise as overwhelming. “Upon coming downstairs, I heard female voices screaming, ‘I’m scared, I’m scared!'” she told the station.
DeMayo said the blast was so loud that at first she believed something had struck her own roof.
Another neighbor, Don Prevary, whose camera recorded the impact, compared the sound to a gunshot.
“Then I look out and I see this car flying backwards out of there,” he said.
Police said the girls fled the scene in less than a minute. Officers later located the damaged SUV on Rutland Court with front end damage but no sign of injury to the girls or nearby residents.
Washington Township Police Chief Patrick Gurcsik told WPVI that the sisters had been allowed to stay up late because there was no school the following day.
That freedom, he said, eventually led them to take the keys. “They were bored and decided to take mom’s car for a ride around the development,” he said.
Gurcsik called the outcome fortunate. “We’re grateful. This could’ve ended tragically.”
The girls will be issued traffic citations that could result in fines or community service.
Meanwhile, investigators in Texas are handling a case involving a nine-year-old girl who was seriously injured after being urged to move a vehicle during a holiday decorating gathering.
Authorities said the girl, her mother, and 25-year-old family friend Ledeja Pickett were preparing the home for seasonal decorations when Pickett instructed the child to move a car on Sunday.
The girl’s mother, who asked to remain anonymous, said she repeatedly objected because her daughter did not know how to drive.
Despite those warnings, Pickett allegedly insisted. The girl entered the vehicle as Pickett put it in reverse.
Investigators said the child mistakenly hit the gas pedal, causing the car to shoot backward down the driveway, strike a curb, spin twice, hit the curb again, and finally crash into a neighbor’s truck.
The girl managed to exit the car before the final impact, but the force of the incident ejected her from the vehicle, resulting in significant injuries.
According to her mother, she suffered multiple lacerations and a severe cut along the back of her leg deep enough to expose bone.
The child was transported to University Health hospital, where she has undergone three surgeries since Sunday.
Her family told KSAT she is currently in a wheelchair and is expected to need approximately three months to recover.
“She had no right to hand a minor keys,” the mother told the outlet. “She had no right to put that car in reverse.”
“Multiple times I told Ledeja no, that my daughter didn’t know how to drive, that she didn’t know what she was doing. And she proceeded to say: ‘Well, she was gonna learn.'”
Pickett was arrested and charged with child injury and endangerment. Her bail was set at twenty five thousand dollars.
