Wild moment car drives onto Venice Pier sparking panic among beachgoers

A typical Sunday night at the Venice Pier turned into a manic scene as a car plowed through the pedestrian walkway, sending tourists and locals sprinting for their lives.Harrowing video of the incident shows the moment the woman driver accelerated the car down the pier — a space reserved for foot traffic — with onlookers scrambling to dodge the speeding vehicle.But social media users were stunned by one young man’s reaction, as he kept calm, continued to fish off the side of the pier, and even managed to catch one.“It was extremely traumatizing for me,” said Daniel Lopez, who was with his son when the car drove onto the pedestrian area, reported NBC LA.“Everybody was trying to yell… My biggest fear was she was flying through that walkway.” California's top news, sports and entertainment delivered to your inbox every day.

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Never miss a story Bystanders can be heard in the video, shouting, “Watch out, watch out,” as the car speeds down the pier.The car’s window on the passenger side had tape all over and the driver was racing with the vehicle headlights turned off.Lopez said that he and his son were forced to dive out of the vehicle’s path twice as it tore through the area.By the time officers from the Los Angeles Police Department arrived, the suspect had already struck a cyclist and fled the scene, triggering a pursuit through city streets.During the high-stakes chase, the driver ended up ramming her car into multiple LAPD vehicles.

The standoff finally ended near Via Marina and Pacific Avenue around 10:30 p.m., and officers finally arrested the driver.Authorities confirmed two officers were injured during the pursuit — one during a tactical precision immobilization technique maneuver and another while shattering the driver’s window to secure the arrest.The woman is expected to face ch...