A driver in a stolen car led officers on a high speed chase for more than two hours Monday from Cabazon to Baldwin Park to San Bernardino ending on a 215 Freeway overpass. California Highway Patrol officers used bean bag rounds against Joseph Nader, 51, of Los Angeles to subdue the suspect.
SAN BERNARDINO >> A driver in a stolen car led officers on a high speed chase for more than two hours Monday from Cabazon to Los Angeles County and back to the Inland Empire. It ended on a freeway overpass in San Bernardino where the man threatened to jump.
A California Highway Patrol officer rushed the man identified as Joseph Nader, 51, of Los Angeles, who was holding a long piece of metal, and pulled him off the guardrail.
“The officer at the end that came in and pulled him off the bridge in my opinion is a hero,” CHP Officer Brian Alvarez said. “I believe he put his life at risk to get the gentleman off the edge of the bridge.”
The bloody man yelled out he had been trying to find work and mental health help before he was taken to an area hospital for his injuries.
• Video: Pursuit suspects says he’s been looking for mental health help
Authorities used less-than-lethal bean bag rounds against Nader, according to CHP officers on scene. He was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of drugs, felony evading, stolen vehicle, resisting arrest and a no-bail warrant
There was concern when motorists stopped to watch the confrontation on the freeway, which Alvarez said posed a safety risk for the drivers and the officers at the scene.
The pursuit began when patrol officers on the Morongo Reservation reported a suspicious vehicle on the reservation to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department about 7:50 a.m., said Deputy Mike Vasquez.
Deputies located the vehicle in Cabazon and ran a record check on it, he said. The vehicle turned out to be stolen — Vasquez did not know where from — so deputies tried to stop it. The driver, Nader, instead took off.
Nader got onto the 10 Freeway west toward Banning. He then took the 60 Freeway through Moreno Valley to the 15 interchange, where the chase was handed over to CHP officers in San Bernardino, Vasquez said.
• Photos: Man leads police on pursuit through three counties
CHP in Los Angeles County took over the pursuit on the westbound 60 in Diamond Bar at 8:57 a.m.
From the westbound 60 Freeway, CHP Officer Alex Rubio said the car went to the northbound 605 Freeway then the eastbound 10 Freeway. Nader allegedly hit speeds of about 90 to 100 mph.
TV news channels began to show the chase in Baldwin Park as it headed eastbound toward San Bernardino.
At one point, the driver opened what looked like a plastic bag and took out an item which he threw out the window.
Nader reportedly stopped on the northbound 215 Freeway in San Bernardino, got out carrying some sort of metal molded car part and walked across the freeway to the Palm Avenue overpass.
Nader could be seen saying something at the officers as he then made his way to one side of the overpass and straddled a guardrail.
An officer pulled him off. Other officers assisted and cuffed the man.
CHP say they’re uncertain when and how Nader was injured though it likely happened during the struggle when he was apprehended.
While he was being treated by paramedics for cuts to his knees at the scene and loaded into an ambulance, Nader said that he’s been looking for work and mental heath help
The suspect was taken to the hospital about 10:30 a.m. About 10 minutes later, both lanes of the 215 were open.