Stolen hearse with a casket and woman’s body inside is found after the driver crashed during a police chase on LA highway
- The casket and the woman’s body was found still inside the hearse after the crash on the 110 Freeway in Los Angeles on Thursday morning
- Black Lincoln navigator had been stolen from outside St. Anthony Greek Orthodox Church in East Pasadena on Wednesday night
- Police said they had taken the driver into custody
- The Los Angeles Police Department was pursuing the vehicle when it crashed
A stolen hearse with a casket and a woman’s body inside has been recovered after the driver crashed the vehicle during a police chase on a Los Angeles freeway.
The casket was found still inside the hearse after the crash on the 110 Freeway on Thursday morning.
Authorities confirmed that the black Lincoln navigator that crashed was the same vehicle that had been stolen from outside St. Anthony Greek Orthodox Church in East Pasadena on Wednesday night.
Police said they had taken the driver into custody.
A stolen hearse with a casket and a woman’s body inside has been recovered after the driver crashed the vehicle during a police chase on a Los Angeles freeway on Thursday
Video footage from news helicopters showed that the vehicle sustained heavy front-end damage
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Sgt. Benjamin Grubb told KTLA that a member of the public had reported seeing the SUV on the highway.
The Los Angeles Police Department was pursuing the vehicle when it crashed.
Video footage from news helicopters showed that the vehicle sustained heavy front-end damage.
Grubb said the body did not appear to have been disturbed but it was unfortunate that the family of the dead person had ‘to be put through further trauma’.
The hearse was stolen from outside the church while one of two bodies was being unloaded a night earlier.
The hearse belonged to a mortuary that had been contracted to transport two bodies to the church.
A mortuary attendant had taken one of the caskets into the church while the other was left in the vehicle outside.
Police said they had taken the driver into custody following the crash. Photo courtesy of CBS LA
The casket was found still inside the hearse after the crash on the 110 Freeway on Thursday morning.
Authorities confirmed that the black Lincoln navigator that crashed was the same vehicle that had been stolen from outside St. Anthony Greek Orthodox Church in East Pasadena on Wednesday night
Video footage from news helicopters showed that the vehicle sustained heavy front-end damage
Police said the hearse had been stolen by the time the worker came back out.
The sheriff’s department had appealed to the thief on social media on Wednesday to return the body.
‘Out of all the bad decisions you have made, at least make one good one and bring back the deceased person and casket inside the Navigator,’ it tweeted.
The sheriff’s office later tweeted their thanks to the person who reported seeing the stolen hearse.
‘Huge THANK YOU to the good samaritan that called law enforcement when they saw the stolen vehicle,’ they tweeted.
‘We also want to send condolences to the family members of the deceased person, who had to deal with this tragedy.’
