A California woman went on a haphazard rampage after stealing a car in Los Angeles. Viral video of the frightening scene shows the stolen vehicle slamming into other cars and nearly bulldozing onlookers in the parking lot.
Around noon on Friday, a thief attempted to rob a 75-year-old woman of her purse at a shopping plaza in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Agoura Hills. The robber pulled the woman from her car and threw the elderly woman to the ground. The thief then jumped into the car and attempted to flee the crime scene in the stolen vehicle.
The victim's daughter told KABC-TV, "The woman came up from behind her, and just grabbed her purse and knocked my mom to the ground. Immediately, the woman then got into my mom's car."
The woman driver slammed into at least six other vehicles. During the vehicular rampage, the female motorist had the driver-side door nearly snapped off after crashing into another car. The stolen car also smashed into a brick wall.
The viral video – with more than 2.4 million views on Twitter – shows bystanders screaming at the carjacker to "get out of the car." Men are seen attempting to get into the stolen vehicle.
Witness Fidel Rodriguez said, "I look out the window and I see this car racing through the parking lot. Hit a Tesla, then hits a Ford, then hits another car. And then people are trying to stop her. She wasn't stopping."
Tow truck driver Elbery Morales added, "There were so many cars that got damaged. They just came to the market to buy some groceries - and when you come out your car is banged up."
After ping-ponging into several vehicles, the carjacked vehicle finally stopped after getting stuck on the curb. The carjacker attempted to run away, but onlookers tackled her and detained her until police arrived. The citizens bound the carjacker's hands with a bandana and tied her shoelaces together.
Rodriguez recalled, "She jumps out the car and some of the people from the grocery store, they basically tackled her right there by our ATM."
The Lost Hills Sheriff's Station said on Facebook, "Deputies arrived and saw citizens detaining a female white in her 20’s, identified as the suspect."
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department officials explained that the car was difficult for the suspect to maneuver because it was still equipped with an anti-theft device on the steering wheel.
Both the suspect and the elderly woman who was robbed were treated for minor injuries.
\u201c\ud83d\udea8WILD MOMENTS as a woman carjacks an elderly woman and goes on a rampage trying to get away in #AgouraHills.\u201d— Traffic News Los Angeles | TNLA (@Traffic News Los Angeles | TNLA) 1680305813
A similar situation with a stolen vehicle happened last week in Washington, D.C. However, the carjacker stole a Jeep with police directly in the area.
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Thanksgiving holiday travel is beginning to look a lot like a return to the pre-pandemic normal, according to industry analysts.
The American Automobile Association predicts that 53.4 million people will travel to celebrate Thanksgiving over the holiday weekend compared to 47.1 million in 2020, the largest single-year increase since 2005.
The AAA said the anticipated surge in travel follows the easing of COVID-19 restrictions over the last year, as well as a higher number of Americans getting vaccinated and feeling more comfortable traveling to visit family.
"This Thanksgiving, travel will look a lot different than last year," said Paula Twidale, senior vice president for AAA Travel. "Now that the borders are open and new health and safety guidelines are in place, travel is once again high on the list for Americans who are ready to reunite with their loved ones for the holiday."
AAA Travel expects that 48.3 million will drive, 4.2 million will fly, and 1 million will use other means of transportation like busses, trains, or cruises over the weekend. In 2019, the last holiday before the pandemic, 47.1 million people traveled for Thanksgiving.
"International travel re-opening will allow people to reconnect with friends and family and explore new places, while also giving a much-needed boost to the economy," Twidale explained. "But it also means airports will be busier than we've seen, so travelers must plan for long lines and extra time for TSA checks."
According to data from the Transportation Security Administration reported by The Guardian, 1,382,230 people went through TSA checkpoints on November 25, a large increase from the 560,902 individuals who traveled in 2020. The TSA recorded 1,591,158 people at checkpoints on Nov. 25 in 2019.
On Nov. 23, the day before Thanksgiving and typically the busiest travel day of the year, 2,207,949 people moved through TSA checkpoints this year compared to the 912,090 that did in 2020.
Public health officials like White House chief medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci have encouraged anyone gathering in groups for the holidays to get vaccinated against COVID-19 in order to celebrate a "normal" holiday.
However, a Hill-HarrisX poll released this week found that 65% of Thanksgiving hosts had no plans to require their visitors to be vaccinated or wear masks.
Only 21% of respondents said they would demand that their guests be vaccinated, and only 4% said they would require masks at their gatherings. 11 said they would require both.
Last year, several health experts predicted that holiday season gatherings could lead to a surge in COVID-19 cases and some made the same warning for this year.
A study published by the American Council on Science and Health in March 2021 analyzed data from the 2020 holiday season and found modest increases in COVID-19 infections in the three weeks before, between, and after Thanksgiving and New Year's Day. "Nevertheless, holiday gatherings do not appear to exert significant long-term increases in COVID-19 infections or fatalities," the study concluded.
A man was shot by officers of the Unified Police Department of Greater Salt Lake in the town of Holladay, Utah, on Thursday, after he allegedly pointed a gun at officers during an altercation that occurred after he was involved in a traffic accident.
At around 3:00 p.m., an officer was filling up the gas tank of their patrol vehicle when a crash occurred on the street next to the service station between a motorcycle and another vehicle.
Sheriff Rosie Rivera told KUTV-TV that the man driving the motorcycle fled, and the officer pursued him on foot. During a physical altercation that witnesses described as "aggressive," the man allegedly "picked up a gun from the ground" and aimed it at the officer. The man was then shot by the officer.
Footage of the moments before the shooting began circulated online shortly after the incident. A KUTV reporter later shared the footage, confirming that the video was captured by a witness.
Video from the officer involved shooting in Holladay from a witness. What you don’t see is the initial crash and th… https://t.co/KoISwWICcg— Heidi Hatch (@Heidi Hatch)1600386280.0
The clip shows a man being chased, engaging in a scuffle, and picking something up from the ground before raising his arms in what appears to be a shooter's stance toward the other person.
The UPD identified the man as Eric Pectol, 49. He was transported to a hospital and believed to be in serious or critical condition. Officers were not seriously injured in the incident.
Now, separate investigations are ongoing over both the crash and the shooting. There were several witnesses to each incident..
Sheriff Rivera also confirmed to the outlet that the crash is "very near" where UPD Officer Doug Barney was fatally shot in 2016 by a fugitive parolee who was fleeing the scene of a traffic accident.
In another report from KUTV on Thursday, a confidential source disclosed that officers from the Salt Lake City Police Department — which does not cover UPD's county jurisdiction — is facing an exodus of dozens of officers complaining that vandalism from protests following the death of George Floyd have gone unchecked.
During a May 30 protest, the city's police station was vandalized, with nearly every window "within reach broken or covered in graffiti."
"I used to be the biggest proponent for it, come to Salt Lake City, it's the best department," one officer said under condition of anonymity. "I'm [now] telling people to stay away from this profession altogether."
Another officer added, "You could be involved with something that's justified and you could still lose your job. If I'm going to be reprimanded for doing the right thing in a job that's already dangerous — how can I go home and tell my family I'm taking care of them?"
CNN's Jake Tapper ignored blue-city soft-on-crime policies Tuesday with a segment blaming the police for increased traffic deaths.
If you're still backing into parking spaces, just cut it out and pull straight into them the way basic geometry demands.
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