A driverless car crashed into a pole in Los Angeles last Thursday night, following a police chase. It wasn’t a Cruise (the robotaxis people have sex in) or a Waymo (no one has admitted to having sex in a Waymo — yet), though. It was a Dodge Charger. It also originally had a driver, but that person bailed due to the whole “police chase” thing, leaving their car to crash into the pole, NBC Los Angeles reports. We may live in a (dystopian) future, but it’s still nice to see things happen the old-fashioned way. Crime is still bad, though. Don’t do crime.
The police chase reportedly began when surveillance state El Monte police license plate readers alerted authorities to the location of what NBC Los Angeles describes as “a wanted vehicle.” Presumably, it was actually the driver of the vehicle who was wanted, since cars themselves can’t actually commit crimes, but it’s probably only a matter of time before we have to figure out how to prosecute a rogue robotaxi. According to the news report, the driver got up to speeds that were high enough that even LA-area cops decided to back off before picking the chase back up in downtown LA.
They see me rollin’
In a rare, reasonable use of the LAPD’s helicopter budget, a police helicopter kept an eye on the driver as they sped through LA, appearing to run several red lights, sometimes hitting speeds of more than 80 mph. That’s still far too fast for LA’s city streets, but at least it was slower than the 130 mph they reportedly hit in the early stages of the police chase. As fast as they were going, though, a crash was almost inevitable, and Charger owners don’t exactly have a reputation for being good drivers.
Somehow, the fleeing driver managed to avoid killing any pedestrians or T-boning any other cars on the road before realizing they probably weren’t going to outrun the helicopter. After driving under an overpass near W. Olympic Boulevard, the suspect reportedly bailed out of their Charger. Instead of doing the responsible thing and parking their car safely before bailing, though, they left it to roll down the street until it crashed into a pole.
If you’re hoping to get a look at the alleged driver’s mugshot, though, we have bad news. There are no reports of any arrests, and while the law may eventually catch up with the driver, their decision to abandon their car appears to have at least temporarily paid off. At least the cops recovered the now-crashed, wanted Charger, though. It’s definitely going to pay for its crimes in Car Jail.
