Here’s one Rolls-Royce Phantom that really lives up to the name.
A car thief stole a beautiful example of the $500,000 British saloon in the Los Angeles suburbs on Wednesday morning. And somehow, after leading police on a high-speed pursuit that stretched into the city itself, they managed to get away.
It’s not clear when exactly the Phantom was stolen, but California Highway Patrol, using information provided by the owner, began pursuing the dark-blue saloon traveling westbound on the 210 freeway northeast of L.A. around 11:30 a.m., according to local TV station ABC7. The brazen thief then turned onto the winding 110 freeway and took it southbound before exiting near Dodger Stadium and immediately speeding off toward downtown L.A.
With the Phantom having now made its way to the city, the CHP called in the LAPD to help, but officers had to keep their distance since they were on surface streets teeming with other vehicles and pedestrians. It’s easy to see why the safety measure was taken. The driver never lost control of the car, but you can see them struggle to handle it while taking sharp turns in their attempt to escape.
“When he makes these turns, you can see he drifts into other lanes,” ABC7 anchor Phillip Palmer can be heard saying during the broadcast. “It’s not a sporting vehicle. It is a luxury vehicle, that has a lot of power, but is not made for driving in this manner.”
The savvy thief took advantage of the buffer they were given as the chase progressed deeper into downtown. They eventually pulled into a parking garage near the L.A. Grand Hotel, and with the vehicle no longer visible, police were forced to stand down while a department helicopter hovering above tried to figure out what was going on, according to KCAL News. When police finally entered the structure, the vehicle was discovered, but the driver was nowhere to be seen.