Officials: Drunken driver crashes truck in El Monte during police chase; wife and children hurt

EL MONTE >> Police arrested an allegedly drunken driver early Sunday after he led police on a chase from Baldwin Park to El Monte with his wife and children in his pickup truck, ultimately crashing and seriously injuring two family members, authorities said.
Saul Capetillo, a 27-year-old parolee from Los Angeles, is accused of drunken driving, evading police, child endangerment and hit-and-run following the pursuit, which began about 1:34 a.m., Baldwin Park police Sgt. Shawn Blackburn said.
Capetillo’s wife and 6-year-old daughter were critically injured in the crash, the sergeant said. The young girl was thrown from the wreckage. No one inside the truck was wearing a seat-belt.
He and his 9-year-old son remained hospitalized Sunday afternoon with injured not believed to be life-threatening, Blackburn said.
The chase began when an officer tried to stop Capetillo’s Chevrolet pickup truck for driving recklessly in 13300 block of Ramona Boulevard, the sergeant said. The truck quickly made a U-turn and sped away.
The truck crashed into another car at Ramona Boulevard and Francisquito Avenue before continuing on into El Monte, Blackburn said. The woman at the wheel of the car suffered apparently minor injuries.
Police continued chasing the pickup truck as it crashed into about six parked cars at Gillman Road near Kerrwood Place, officials said.
“It went airborne and flipped,” Blackburn said, throwing the young girl from the wreckage and brining the pursuit to an end.
Capetillo, who is already on parole following a previous felony conviction, was yet to be booked Sunday afternoon as he remained hospitalized.

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