Death is a solemn event but this is one for the books as a hearse was stolen with the body still inside, much to the dismay of family members who were disturbed by the auto theft.
Relatives were relieved as the hearse was recovered by the Los Angeles police in a highway pursuit chasing after the stolen SUV hearse that was stolen at a southern California church. The body was still intact in the back of the car when the SUV was found.
According to sources in the unusual car-jacking, the car thief did not expect to find a corpse in the car's cargo bay. The vehicle in question is a black Lincoln 2017 Lincoln Navigator, a highpiced SUV which is popular with American car owners.
The hearse was reported stolen in the Pasadena area earlier by family members who were surprised and dismayed why the SUV hearse was taken. On early Thursday, the Los Angeles police got alerted by a driver who identified the Navigator on the freeway. Police immediately sent units to intercept the stolen vehicle. The offending driver saw the police cruisers and was the subject of hot pursuit by them.
During the highway chase, the driver of the SUV racing on southbound 110 Freeway did not stop, despite a warning to pullover and slow down. The highway chase ended abruptly when the suspect, had an accident by crashing into another vehicle that ended the highway chases, according to the Los Angeles Times.
When the hearse was stopped by the police, Sgt. Sgt. Benjamin Grubb with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said that the suspect was apprehended with the body inside the back, in one of two caskets.
According to Sgt. Grubb when related to CNN affiliate KLA, the highway chase began that led to the driver's capture.
During the chase by officers and with all southbound lanes blocked on the 110 freeway in south Los Angeles Thursday morning, there is no report of injuries.
Right after the incident, the authorities thanked the one who identified the runaway hearse and helped apprehend the perpetrator. Another message was sent to the family that had to deal with the ghoulish car theft and the grief it gave them.
According to Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy Maria Lucero, she related that the real driver of the hearse was delivering one body for the funeral parlor, and another in the back when it was stolen.
Despite all the happening, like the car theft and highway chase on southbound 110 Freeway, the remains were not disturbed, commented Sheriff's Sgt. Benjamin Grubb to KTLA.
The stolen hearse was returned with some damage from the freeway chase, and the body was returned to the family. The suspect was apprehended by police after the chase.
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