As officers were beginning the investigation into the traffic crash, a young male adult who was involved in the collision jumped into an idling cruiser and took off, officials said.
The man continued to drive down the freeway, reaching speeds of up to 100 miles per hour, police said.
He was driving around 45 miles per hour on the highway near Lancaster when he opened the driver’s door and jumped out of the vehicle as it was approaching a spike strip set up by police, authorities said.
The man, whose name is being held by authorities, rolled across the road and appeared to hit the back of his head and was unconscious as the cruiser continued to travel off the road and crashed into a light pole, police said.