The Southbound 55 Freeway Was At A Dead Stop After 8-Hours Long Standoff With Semi-Driver

SANTA ANA, CA — Thursday morning commuters felt the pain of a SIGALERT on the 55 southbound freeway. Traffic was backed up for miles, beyond the 22 on both the 57 and 55 southbound roadways following an all-night standoff between the driver of a stolen semi-truck and California Highway Patrol. As of 9 a.m., reports are that the standoff has ended in an arrest, though the SIGALERT remained for the time being.

Early Thursday, the driver of a stolen tractor-trailer truck that evaded CHP officers overnight halted in Garden Grove at 4 a.m.

The driver led officers on an 8-hours long pursuit across Los Angeles freeways, starting at just before 8:15 p.m. in east Los Angeles, according to CHP Officer Patrick Kimball.

The driver evaded officers at a slow speed, ending up at the MacArthur Boulevard exit where he came to a complete stop on the freeway Thursday morning. All southbound lanes of the 55 Freeway have been closed since 4 a.m., officers say.

CHP officers used spike strips eight times on freeways in an attempt to bring the chase to an end, to no avail. Several of the truck's tires were punctured, with two total blowouts, though the driver refused to stop.

Commuters, such as Twitter user @SteveandApril were stuck in traffic for hours as CHP attempted to end the altercation.

Officers attempted to peacefully end the standoff in Garden Grove, though the roadway was still closed as of 9:30 a.m.