High-Stakes Chase Ends in Malibu: Children Inside Stolen Car During Dramatic Pursuit

29 August 2025

Friday evening in Los Angeles took an alarming turn when a man seized an idling sedan in East L.A. with three children inside ages estimated at 9, 7, and 2 sparking a tense police chase that ended in a violent collision on the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu. Minutes after the car theft at a 7-Eleven on East Olympic Boulevard, the California Highway Patrol joined the pursuit westbound along the 10 Freeway, eventually cornering the vehicle at the intersection of Pacific Coast Highway and Kanan Dume Road, where it t-boned an SUV.

News helicopter footage captured the aftermath: the suspect abandoning the wreck, fleeing barefoot across a residential area into a nearby field, only to be arrested shortly after. Emergency crews airlifted three people from the scene, while another was transported via ambulance. Three victims sustained minor to moderate injuries; the condition of the fourth, which likely included at least one child, was not immediately confirmed.

The children, though shaken, were conscious and breathing when extracted, offering a breath of relief amid the chaos. Their father present at the 7-Eleven attempted to stop the vehicle by jumping in, only to fall and be struck in the process.

In a scene saturated with tension, law enforcement avoided using a standard PIT maneuver to end the chase due to the grave risk to the children inside. Instead, a spike strip was deployed, triggering erratic driving that concluded in the Malibu crash.

This violent collision, so close to Malibu’s coastline, ignited community concern and media scrutiny not merely for the criminal behavior but for the use of a vehicle containing children as collateral in a desperate flight. Questions about response protocols and child safety during such pursuits have been foregrounded, as observers call for review and reforms to balance accountability with protection.

Despite the chaos, a small miracle emerged: the children, though deeply traumatized by the experience, survived without life-threatening injuries. The crash remains under investigation, with the suspect in custody and law enforcement piecing together the full sequence of events leading to the seizure of the idling vehicle.