[VIDEO] C6 Corvette Driver Shot and Killed after Leading LA Police in Hour Long Chase

Police have identified the driver of a C6 Corvette involved in an hour-long high-speed chase in Los Angeles Friday night as 51-year-old Brian Newt Beaird of Oceanside, Calif.

Beaird was behind the wheel of the silver Corvette in Cudahy in east LA about 9:30 p.m. Friday when L.A. County sheriff’s deputies tried to stop him because he was driving recklessly.

After leading lawmen on a high-speed and dangerous pursuit through the Huntington Park and USC area, Beaird, who was targeted by police for suspected drunk driving, finally crashed his Corvette into another vehicle at the intersection of Olympic Boulevard and Los Angeles Street in downtown Los Angeles. He climbed out of the Corvette and was shot multiple times by police as he apparently attempted to flee.

As the shooting unfolded, TV news choppers hovering above the scene captured the action live as Beaird maneuvered the Corvette down the street with police in hot pursuit, sometimes driving without his lights on and often “just driving in circles,” according to Sky9 reporter Meghan Reyes.

Even a spike strip thrown on the road by police at one point didn’t seem to affect the Corvette, which more than likely still had run-flat tires that are designed to be useable for several miles after a blowout.

The chase finally came to an end when the Corvette rammed violently into the back of another vehicle trying to pass through an intersection from the other side and the Corvette spun around, winding up against a utility pole nearby. With smoke or steam pouring from under the hood of his badly damaged car, Beaird at first tried to pull forward, then went backward before climbing out of the car and being shot by police as he attempted to flee the scene on foot.

The Corvette, by the way, had a handicapped license plate on the back.

Melanie Woodrow, reporting for CBS2, said at the scene paramedics could be seen doing “vigorous” chest compressions on the suspect, but Beaird was pronounced dead at California Hospital Medical Center at about 11:13 p.m. Friday, according to Los Angeles coroner’s Capt. John Kades.

LAPD Officer Gregory Baek said the apparent shooting is being investigated.

Media reports have not identified the two occupants of the other vehicle involved in the collision, nor his condition.

Here is unedited video from the chase which shows the crash and then the suspect is shot by police. The crash happens around 20:35.

Here is a recap from KABC-TV in LA:

Thanks for the tip Todd!

Sources:
KABC.com
LA Times
losangeles.cbslocal.com

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