A 47-year-old man who drove his SUV into at least three parked cars in a residential neighborhood in Studio City—and may have damaged at least 15 cars—was arrested early Friday morning on suspicion of driving under the influence.
According to witnesses, the driver of the Chrysler 300 was smashing into cars purposefully as he drove around the neighborhood.
Police began getting calls about the driver hitting vehicles around 12:50 a.m. in the area of Laurel Terrace Drive and Vantage Avenue, said Sgt. Rich Brunson of the Los Angeles Police Department's Valley Traffic Division.
Initial reports said the driver had struck as many as 15 cars, but officers retraced the motorist's 1.6 mile route of destruction and found three vehicles with relatively minor damage, Brunson said. Police are urging residents who may have had car damage to file police reports so they can get a more accurate count.
The residents of the 12200 block of Hillslope Street reported to 911 early Friday morning that a car was racing around the neighborhood. A flurry of calls went to police.
The suspect, whose name was not immediately released, abandoned his vehicle on Hillslope Street near Laurel Grove Avenue and was arrested a short distance away, police said.
He was booked on suspicion of driving under the influence and an additional filing of three counts of misdemeanor hit-and-run was requested, Brunson said.
Studio City resident Mary Shear was interviewed by KTLA Channel 5 and said it sounded "like there was a race going on outside." (Sign up for KTLA 5 Breaking News Email Alerts)
There was still a trail of liquid and skid marks in the area as well as damaged bumpers, broken axels and sideswipe dents along Laurel Terrace Drive, Vantage Avenue and Laurelgrove Avenue. According to KTLA, the car was eventually found parked in the wrong direction on Hillslope. After an hour-long search, the driver was found in a home across from the damaged car.
Follow the "path of destruction" on the KTLA 5 video report above.
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