Following a terrifying police chase on the Los Angeles Freeway, INSIDE EDITION has tips on how to be safe should this happen to you.
It's one of the wildest high speed police chases ever. And it can happen to you, a hijacking, on your way home from work.
It happened in Los Angeles during the evening rush hour.
A helicopter reporter Stu Mundel from KCAL said, “He's got a weapon. He's trying to car jack somebody pulling a woman out of the car taking another vehicle. Oh! There we go! Oh! And he's trying to continue.”
A fugitive was in the stolen car and nothing seemed to stop him. It was near miss after near miss until there was a crash.
He totaled his getaway car and then desperately tried to hijack another vehicle.
In cell phone video shot by a passerby the maniac can be heard screaming orders, “Get out! Get out! Get out of the way! Get out of the way!”
Twenty-two-year-old nurse Elizabeth Yarahuan was at the wheel of the hijacked car.
She told reporters, "He told me to get out of my car. He told me like twice. That is when I got out of the car."
What would you do if faced with a similar terrifying situation? Security expert Jeff Zisner says there are ways to foil a hijacker.
Zisner told INSIDE EDITION's Jim Moret, "There are a couple things that we can do very simply. Roll up your window so they can't get their arm through easily. Second thing you need to absolutely do every time you get in your car is lock your doors."
Moret asked, "Let's say your door is open, somebody opens that door, they have a gun, they have a knife, what do you do then?"
Zisner replied, "The decision is either to fight, to run away, or to give them the car. Most of the time, safest for you, give them the car."
As the suspect fled the chase continued on L.A. freeways for another 45 minutes.
Stu Mundel told INSIDE EDITION, "I have been chasing pursuits and news in Los Angeles since the 90's. This was one of those that I just went, 'What is this guy doing?!'"
Then, as darkness fell, the chase was about to reach its climax. He tried to hijack yet another car but as he opened the door, this time he was shot by police officers.
It was over. But for the innocent woman involved, it’s something she'll never forget.
INSIDE EDITION's Jim Moret asked Zisner, "What is the lesson and the memory she should carry?"
He replied, "Without a doubt, next time she gets in her car, she should lock her doors."
