A Southern California intersection became the scene of a destructive multi-vehicle wreck early Wednesday morning after a husband allegedly used his car as a weapon while chasing his wife, setting off a chain-reaction crash that injured four people and led to a manhunt through a residential neighborhood.
The incident unfolded just before 6 a.m. at the intersection of Cypress Street and Hollenbeck Avenue. According to Covina police, a domestic violence situation escalated rapidly when a man began pursuing his wife’s vehicle at a high rate of speed.
The chase ended violently when the husband allegedly rammed his car into his wife’s vehicle at the intersection.
Both the wife and her teenage daughter were in the car at the time of the severe impact that flipped their vehicle onto its side. The crash involved a total of five vehicles, with wreckage scattered across the intersection. First responders transported four people to area hospitals.
Authorities confirmed that all injuries sustained were non-life-threatening, a fact that investigators noted as remarkable given the severity of the collision.
Investigation Ongoing as Neighborhood Recovers
Following the crash, the suspect fled the scene on foot, triggering a search that lasted approximately two hours. Security footage obtained from neighbors provided critical clues about his movements.
Video captured the man running behind a house moments after the wreck, and later footage showed him wandering through the neighborhood near the crash site, apparently trying to avoid detection.
The suspect was eventually located hiding in the backyard of a nearby home. Residents who spotted the man alerted police, leading to his arrest around 8 a.m. One neighbor described the surreal experience of discovering the suspect on their property.
“I came out and I saw all the cops running out that way to the backyard,” a resident told reporters. “Next thing I knew, he was right next door, hiding behind the gate. The cops got him out. It’s crazy. Never seen this here before.”
Another neighbor recounted seeing the man on the side of their house. “He had been watching the officers from the fence over there, and then he went around to my backyard,” the resident explained. Concerned for their son’s safety inside the home, the neighbor alerted media crews on the scene, who then directed police to the suspect’s location.
Investigation Ongoing as Neighborhood Recovers
Covina police confirmed that the incident is being investigated as a domestic violence case. The suspect was taken into custody, though authorities have not yet released his identity or the specific charges he faces. Investigators continue to look into what led to the initial chase prior to the crash.
The intersection of Cypress and Hollenbeck has since been cleared, but the morning’s events left the quiet Covina neighborhood shaken. With the suspect in custody and all four injured individuals expected to recover, police say the investigation remains ongoing.