Hearse stolen outside Pasadena church with woman’s corpse inside crashes on 110 Freeway
PASADENA, Calif. – A hearse that was stolen outside a Pasadena church with a woman’s corpse inside was involved in a short pursuit before it crashed on the 110 Freeway in South Los Angeles Thursday morning, officials said.
A suspect was taken into custody and has been identified as 25-year-old James Juarez.
Officials say the deceased body inside the hearse was not connected to the church.
The sheriff’s office said there was an all-out search for the vehicle with California license plate No. 7ZDG618.
It was originally reported the missing body was inside a casket, but investigators later determined the woman’s corpse was inside a body bag.
Just before 8 a.m. Thursday, officers with the Los Angeles Police Department were in pursuit of the stolen vehicle with a matching license plate after the driver failed to stop. The vehicle then crashed on the southbound lanes of the 110 Freeway, striking multiple other vehicles in the process, near Vernon Avenue in South Los Angeles.
Officials shut down the southbound lanes near downtown Los Angeles while authorities continued to conduct the investigation. It was unknown when the lanes would reopen.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department confirmed there was a deceased body inside the vehicle, but it remained uncertain if it was the same body reported missing.
Just after 10 a.m., Sky FOX captured aerial images of officials transferring the body from the wrecked hearse to another Lincoln Navigator in the City of Vernon.
Officials Thursday morning transferred a woman’s body from a stolen hearse that crashed on the southbound lanes of the 110 Freeway to another Lincoln Navigator that was customized for mortuaries.
The suspect was hospitalized and taken into custody, authorities said.
Despite not having an affiliation with the church, authorities returned the body to Saint Anthony Greek Orthodox Church late Thursday morning. The body has yet to be positively identified to determine whether the female corpse was the same one originally stolen.
The investigation is ongoing.
Photo Credit: foxla.com