Thursday, February 27, aerial video of Interstate 110 in Los Angeles showed the front end of a Lincoln Navigator with extensive front-end damage. This was not just a normal Navigator-it doubled as a hearse.
The hearse still had a dead body in the back of it. 25-year-old James Juarez had stolen the vehicle the night before around 8:00 p.m. from a local church.
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The driver of the hearse was delivering another body to the church and he kept the vehicle running. That was when Juarez stole the vehicle.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department made pleas to the person responsible for stealing the hearse to at least return the casket and the body that was in the back.
A good Samaritan called law enforcement after seeing their tweet regarding the stolen vehicle. They informed the officers that they had seen the stolen vehicle.
Once police came in contact with the Navigator, the driver took them on a short chase. This chase ended with a crash around 9:00 a.m. on Interstate 110. There were several other vehicles damaged in the process. Interstate 110 is a major freeway and highly trafficked in the Los Angeles area.
They were able to apprehend Juarez and return the casket and body back to the mortuary. The Lincoln Navigator was impounded.
Juarez was booked on a felony charge of grand theft auto is in being held in lieu of a $35,000 bail.
There were no significant injuries in the accident and no one else was hurt during the chase.
The investigation is still ongoing. It is uncertain why Juarez stole the victim in the first place.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office took to social media and expressed its condolences to the family whose deceased loved one was in the back of the hearse when it was stolen.