May 7, 2008 6:15 am US/Pacific
Suspected DUI Driver Hits Several Cars In Venice
VENICE, Calif.
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The crash was reported at 10:10 p.m.
CBS
A man suspected of using heroine crashed a van into as many as 10 parked vehicles in Venice, then struggled with two LAPD officers -- pricking them with a syringe -- before he was stunned him with a Taser and arrested, a police sergeant said.
The crash was reported after 10 p.m. near Strongs Drive and Washington Boulevard on Tuesday night, according to Officer Sara Faden of the Los Angeles Police Department's Media Relations Section.
A sergeant with the LAPD's Pacific Station told a camera crew that a patrolling officer witnessed a white van head northbound on Strongs Drive, cross Washington Boulevard and slamm into several parked vehicles.
The officer called for backup, the sergeant said.
As more officers closed in, the suspect driving the damaged van attempted to drive away from the wreckage and would not cooperate with police, he said.
As he resisted attempts to drag him out of the van, the suspect attacked officers with a syringe that was allegedly on his person, the sergeant said.
Police subdued the man by shocking him with a Taser twice on his back, then took him into custody, the officer told RMG.
He was taken to a hospital with facial injuries and bleeding to the head -- both apparently suffered when the van crashed, according to a news crew.
The suspect, whose name has not been released, may have been under the influence of heroine, said the sergeant at the scene.
One of the officers struck by the syringe was seen having his arm treated with rubbing alcohol after the struggle. The two officers were then taken to a hospital, the sergeant said.
As of 3 a.m., both officers were still being checked out at a hospital, said the Pacific Station watch commander. "Yup, they got poked," the lieutenant said when asked if it had been confirmed that there had been skin contact with the syringe.
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)
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