Local News in Brief : 35-Mile Chase Ends as Water Truck Overturns

The driver of a tanker-trailer truck carrying a load of water led police and California Highway Patrol officers on a 35-mile chase Thursday from Newhall to Alhambra, where it ended when one of the truck’s two tanks overturned at a freeway off-ramp.

There were no injuries and no other accidents reported in the chase, which reached speeds of 70 m.p.h., authorities said.

The driver of the truck, Bernardino Lopez, 46, of La Habra, was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol, resisting arrest and assault on a police officer, said CHP Officer Jill Angel.

The chase began at 1:18 p.m. when a Los Angeles police motorcycle officer, on his way to work from his home in the Antelope Valley, attempted to stop Lopez for speeding on the southbound Antelope Valley Freeway near Sierra Highway, said CHP officer Ed Zubyk. Lopez refused to stop and sped away, he said.

The CHP took over the chase, which continued onto the southbound Golden State Freeway, then onto the eastbound San Bernardino Freeway, Zubyk said. It ended when one of the truck’s two tanks overturned at the Garvey Avenue off-ramp after Lopez failed to make a sharp turn, he said.

Angel said that when CHP officers pulled Lopez from the truck, he punched or kicked one of the officers.

Angel said Lopez is employed by Kings County Truck Lines and was hauling 6,500 gallons of water to an Arrowhead Drinking Water Co. facility in Los Angeles.

Lopez was being held at Parker Center Jail in lieu of $3,000 bail.