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We don't know, exactly, what the odds are, but we're pretty sure that a Huntington Beach officer was wildly lucky when his badge deflected a bullet that could have taken his life.The incident started when officers received a domestic violence call just after midnight on Friday, reports the L.A. Times. Officers arrived as a home by Bushard Street and Yorktown Avenue and saw a man getting into a vehicle. When told to get out, the man drove away, made a u-turn, and began shooting at officers from his car. One of the officers was hit right in the badge, which deflected the bullet. The officer was later treated at a hospital and released on Friday morning, said a spokesperson for the Huntington Beach Police Department.
The suspect took officers on a car chase through Costa Mesa, Santa Ana, and then up the 15 freeway with speeds reaching up to 100 MPH, reports NBC 4. Three different police agencies were called in. After the initial contact with the Huntington Beach police, the Costa Mesa Police Department and the California Highway Patrol also got involved.
During the chase, the suspect veered off the road and went down an embankment by Cleghorn Road in Cajon Pass. The car burst into flames and the driver was later pronounced dead. Authorities say he was the only person in the car. The Cleghorn offramp on the northbound 15 Freeway will be closed for several hours, according to the Times in an article posted at 9:10 a.m Friday.
The Huntington Beach Police Department has declined to release information about the gunman or the domestic violence report.
