CHP took over a southbound 101 chase, and both suspects were captured after a brief foot run into high brush, authorities said.
ENCINO, CA — Two people were taken into custody Thursday morning after a high-speed pursuit that began on U.S. 101 in the San Fernando Valley and veered into the Sepulveda Basin Recreation Area, where the pair ditched a Honda Civic and fled on foot, according to officials and broadcast reports.
The chase unfolded on Thanksgiving, when many Southern California freeways are quieter than normal, and involved a handoff from Los Angeles police to the California Highway Patrol. The car exited the freeway at Balboa Boulevard before cutting across surface streets toward open space near the Los Angeles River. The incident ended minutes later in brush inside the basin, a sprawling flood-control and recreation zone. No injuries were immediately reported. Authorities did not release the suspects’ names or say what initially prompted the pursuit, and booking details were not yet available by Thursday night.
Shortly before 11:30 a.m., a driver and passenger in a Honda Civic were heading south on the 101 Freeway in Tarzana when CHP officers assumed the pursuit from LAPD. The car exited at Balboa Boulevard, turned east onto Burbank Boulevard and crossed into oncoming lanes near Woodley Avenue, then left the pavement for an unpaved service road inside the Sepulveda Basin. “Both were taken into custody after a brief foot chase,” the station reported from the scene. Officers recovered the car near a line of tall brush as ground units and a helicopter converged on the floodplain area.
Officials said the pair ran from the abandoned car but were quickly detained after officers set a perimeter along the dirt roadway. The Honda was left near high vegetation not far from Burbank Boulevard. Investigators did not immediately disclose the suspects’ ages, hometowns or whether the car was stolen. No collisions were reported during the freeway segment of the chase, and no bystanders were known to be hurt. “Thanksgiving Day traffic was light on the freeway,” the station reported, noting speeds were high before the driver left the 101. It was not clear how long LAPD units had followed the car before CHP took over on the freeway, which is standard practice in the region.
The Sepulveda Basin Recreation Area spans thousands of acres of open space, ballfields and wildlife habitat behind the Army Corps of Engineers’ Sepulveda Dam. The grid of dirt and maintenance roads, along with thick riparian brush near the Los Angeles River channel, often gives officers and air crews clear sightlines but can complicate foot searches once suspects leave vehicles. Burbank Boulevard and Woodley Avenue border key sections of the basin that see regular jogger and cyclist traffic; on holidays, the area also draws picnickers and dog walkers. Thursday’s detentions appeared to occur away from formal trails, in a flood-control zone designed to withstand periodic inundation.
CHP said the two will be booked on suspicion of felony evading and related counts once interviews and vehicle checks are complete, a routine step after pursuits that cross multiple jurisdictions. The car will be impounded pending a search warrant and verification of ownership, according to standard procedure. Additional details, including the original reason for the attempted traffic stop and any outstanding warrants, were expected to be available once jail records are processed. Authorities did not announce a timeline for releasing the names. If prosecutors file charges, an initial court appearance would likely be set for early next week, with a bail review to follow.
Late Thursday, the basin’s main roadways had reopened and only a few patrol units remained near the dirt access path where the car was found. Thanksgiving runners and cyclists passed intermittently as officers photographed the vehicle and cleared the perimeter tape. A nearby resident who watched from Burbank Boulevard described the end of the chase as quiet once the pair left the car, with officers closing in from both directions. Traffic on the 101 flowed normally by afternoon as sky conditions cleared over the Valley.
As of Thursday evening, both suspects remained in custody and booking details were pending. Authorities said they expect to provide an update after records are finalized and the vehicle status is confirmed.
Author note: Last updated Nov. 27, 2025.