The hours-long pursuit began in Ventura County, ran through Los Angeles and Orange counties, and ended at the San Ysidro Port of Entry.
LOS ANGELES — A woman driving a reportedly stolen Toyota minivan led California Highway Patrol units on a southbound pursuit Monday from the San Fernando Valley to the U.S.–Mexico border, then crossed into Mexico as officers halted their chase near the San Ysidro Port of Entry early afternoon.
The chase drew live aerial coverage across Southern California and cut through four counties in just over two hours, according to officials. Authorities said the pursuit started late Monday morning after the vehicle was reported stolen in Ventura County and continued onto the 405, 5 and 805 freeways toward San Diego. CHP supervisors canceled the active pursuit near the border for safety reasons while notifying federal officers at the port of entry. By early afternoon the minivan had crossed into Mexico, leaving jurisdictional and extradition questions to investigators.
Dispatch traffic and agency statements described a rolling effort to contain the minivan as it moved south. The pursuit began after 10:50 a.m. when Ventura County deputies spotted the silver Toyota and attempted a stop near Thousand Oaks. The driver continued onto the 118 Freeway toward the Sepulveda Pass, then merged to the 405. Southbound lanes were light for a weekday late morning, and the minivan generally stayed with traffic, occasionally reaching about 80 mph, officers said. Along the way, at least two spike-strip attempts failed when the driver swerved or the devices did not deploy properly. CHP took over primary pursuit duties as the vehicle crossed into Los Angeles County, then remained on the 405 through Orange County before transitioning to the 5 in Mission Viejo and, later, to the 805 in San Diego.
Officials provided a rough distance of more than 150 miles, with estimates Monday afternoon placing the route near 170 miles from the San Fernando Valley to the international line. Investigators said the minivan was the only occupied vehicle and there were no immediate reports of injuries or crashes related to the pursuit. CHP supervisors said they alerted U.S. Customs and Border Protection shortly after 1 p.m. that the vehicle was approaching the San Ysidro crossing. “We don’t want this car forcing its way through the entry, hurting other people,” Sgt. Esteban Hernandez said, describing why units were canceled on State Route 905 minutes before the minivan reached the booths. CHP said it received word around 1:24 p.m. that the vehicle had entered Mexico.
Authorities said early information pointed to a family dispute preceding the theft report. According to law enforcement briefings, the driver’s mother contacted officers and said her daughter was in a mental health crisis and had taken the minivan from a residence tied to a recovery program in Thousand Oaks. The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office recorded the theft report at about 10:35 a.m., and deputies in Moorpark attempted a traffic stop roughly 20 minutes later. CHP officers in the West Valley area then assumed the pursuit when the minivan reached Los Angeles County. Along the route, officers repeatedly discussed the risk of spike strips or box-in maneuvers during late-morning traffic and chose to rely on aerial tracking as the vehicle neared the border.
Southern California’s freeways have produced countless televised chases, but cross-border endings remain rare. Monday’s pursuit threaded familiar corridors: the 118 through the Chatsworth area, the 405 past Sherman Oaks and the Sepulveda Pass, then south through Long Beach and into Orange County before the handoff to the 5. In San Diego County, traffic remained steady enough to keep speeds moderate. Unlike many high-profile pursuits involving collisions or PIT maneuvers, officers did not physically disable the minivan. Several attempts to slow the vehicle with tire spikes were unsuccessful, including one try in Oceanside where traffic was momentarily halted.
By the time the minivan neared San Ysidro, CHP field supervisors weighed the risk to drivers queued at one of the nation’s busiest land crossings. Supervisors canceled the immediate pursuit at 1:19 p.m., minutes after notifying federal officers. Officials emphasized that pulling back is common when a fleeing vehicle approaches the border to reduce the chance of a crash in the inspection lanes. With the pursuit discontinued, the driver entered Mexico without a law-enforcement vehicle directly behind. It was not immediately clear Monday whether the driver was stopped by Mexican authorities after crossing or whether the vehicle was recovered.
Records show that cross-border investigations typically involve coordination between CHP, the originating sheriff’s office, and federal partners. In this case, Ventura County detectives are expected to handle the vehicle-theft case while CHP documents the pursuit and compiles video and logs from each division that joined along the route. If the minivan is confirmed stolen from a recovery facility in Thousand Oaks, investigators could seek an arrest warrant and contact international liaisons regarding the suspect’s whereabouts. Any extradition or return would depend on charges filed in California and cooperation with Mexican authorities; officials did not announce charges Monday evening.
Officials said the pursuit generated no immediate reports of injuries, property damage or crashes—an outcome they attributed to midday traffic conditions and the suspect’s mostly steady speeds. Still, officers described tense moments as drivers yielded for patrol cars and a helicopter tracked the minivan’s path. Near Mission Viejo, commuters watched as the minivan moved through lane changes without signaling while units kept distance. In downtown San Diego, pedestrians along overpasses paused to record cell phone video as the helicopter orbited and the sirens faded once the cancellation order took effect. “You could hear them pull back,” said Marisol Vega, who was walking near Chula Vista when the minivan passed below. “Then it was just the chopper and regular traffic.”
As of Monday night, investigators said key details remained unsettled, including whether the suspect was detained after entering Mexico and where the minivan ultimately stopped. Officials planned to review dash-camera footage, dispatch tapes and helicopter video to confirm the exact timeline—starting with the initial theft report around 10:35 a.m., the attempted traffic stop before 11 a.m., the southbound run along the 405 and 5, and the approach to the San Ysidro Port of Entry after 1 p.m. Authorities said any charging decisions would be announced once the case is presented to prosecutors in Ventura County.
Author note: Last updated November 11, 2025.