Prius Driver Survives 250-Foot Cliff Fall During Police Chase

A man drove his Toyota Prius off a San Pedro clifftop during a high-speed pursuit and survived the 250- to 300-foot plunge, authorities said today.

The pursuit, which reached speeds of 80 miles per hour in downtown San Pedro, occurred after the suspect aimed his vehicle at Los Angeles Port Police officers in Wilmington about 11 p.m. Monday, Port Police spokesman Phillip Sanfield said.

The officers were working with Los Angeles Police Department officers at a traffic crash site near the intersection of Pacific Coast Highway and Alameda Street when the suspect evaded an attempt to prevent him going through the intersection and aimed the vehicle at them, Sanfield said.

The officers avoided the vehicle and then pursued the driver through San Pedro on Gaffey Street, Sanfield said.

The suspect sped through the point where South Gaffey dead-ends with Shepard Street, crashed through a locked gate and drove over a nearby cliff, he said.

Firefighters at the scene estimated the vehicle landed 250-300 feet down, Sanfield said.

The suspect, who’s in his 30s, was hospitalized for broken bones and will be booked on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer when his condition permits, Sanfield said. His name was not immediately released.

A port police officer suffered a minor ankle injury dodging the vehicle, he said.

City News Service