Alyssa Wilson, a resident at a sober living home, stole a minivan and was chased for hours until crossing the border
A woman who had been staying at a women’s sobriety home in California stole a minivan and was chased by police for hours until she crossed over to Mexico on Monday.
A second woman, Nicolle Walters, 45, reported to authorities that her 2004 gray Toyota Sienna was missing, along with her car key, according to a statement by the Ventura county sheriff’s office. Walters, owner and operator of two women’s sober living homes, identified the suspect as Alyssa Wilson, one of the residents at Diana’s House Sober Living in Thousand Oaks, which is about an hour’s drive north-west of Los Angeles.
“The keys were stolen out of my house manager’s purse. I happened to pull up right when it was happening,” she said, adding that the minivan is used for the sobriety home’s tasks.
Officials tracked the van about 12 miles (19km) north to Simi Valley, where they tried to pull the vehicle over, but Wilson refused to stop and sped away. She reached about 90mph (145km/h) on the 118 freeway until the chase continued into Los Angeles county. There, Ventura county authorities handed over the pursuit to the California highway patrol (CHP) once Wilson entered the 405 freeway heading south, the statement said.
