FOX 11's Susan Hirasuna details crime of her car being stolen

SoCal News Insider
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4 Video Views·Mar 30, 2024
For decades, Susan Hirasuna has reported on police chases and crime in LA. But on Thursday night she fell victim to a crime after her Tesla was stolen.
to a police pursuit through
Hollywood, which came to an end
when the stolen electric Tesla
ran out of battery. It started
Thursday night in Koreatown as
police pursued the vehicle on
the one on one and into
Hollywood, the owner of the
Tesla Model S informed police
the vehicle battery was down to
1% which is about 15 miles of
range. Well, the car died on
Melrose Avenue in East
Hollywood. The suspect was
arrested during the
investigation. The LAPD
discovered the suspect may be
the owner of the car. The
suspect was arrested on
Melrose Avenue in East Hollywood
when he was tied to an assault
in Skid Row. So now the twist
that car see her there belong
to our very own Susan here
sooner. She joins us now with
more on this whole ordeal.
Susan, how are you doing? I'm a
little tired. I had a very
sleepless night and then I
spent the day kind of dealing
with police and my insurance
company. And then I got a call
from my husband and I was like,
Oh, my God, I'm going to be
impounded for a time service
because, yeah, the battery was
exhausted. So in order to get
the battery back up, it's not
just as simple as. Taking it
someplace charge. You have to
rest of the systems are in good,
you know, standing. Well
obviously, we're so sorry that
you experienced this last
night. Thank goodness. You're
okay, Susan. You know, it's
not easy. It's not easy. It's
not easy. You know, you were
at a hotel last night. You
you're at an event in Korea
town. And where's my car? Then
what? Well, not Korea town. We
were actually in downtown play,
um, near the ace hotel, what
used to be called the Ace Hotel
Theater. Now it's the United
Theater just off of Maine and
Olympic and parked up. Um
and. I was like, Oh, my God.
I was like, Oh, my God. I was
like, Oh, my God. I was like,
Oh, my God. And then the app.
The thing is about a Tesla as
you can look at the app. It
says it was still parked where
I said it was parked. But then
I realized, Oh, no, I can see
the wheels are turning. I can
see a car on the app moving. So
I, you know, freaked out and
instead of calling 911, I
thought. Station My girlfriend
was on the phone. And I was
like, Oh, my God. I was like,
Oh, my God. I already knew
that. So we go to main station
on First Street. I knock on the
window. They finally come out,
but they go. This is an
administration building. You
know, you can't report a crime
here. And I said, Well, can you
at least just get on the radio
and tell Central division? I
can see the car where it is.
It's all staying in the skid
row downtown area. And so by
that time he realizes I can
see it. I can see it. I can
see it. I can see it. I can see
it. I can see it. I can see it.
And I realized, Wait, that's
matching up with the location
that I'm seeing on the app.
They started following that car
because somebody else had
reported like a driver driving
erratically or recklessly. Then
the police officers. I spoke to
it. The main station called
them and said, Look, this is a
stolen car. We then went to
Central division where I
started talking with the
officers. They said, No, we
don't have the owner here. We
started communicating and
saying. You know, this is the
situation. We have the owner
here and P s. At one point, I
heard them go. Maybe we can do
a pit and I said, Don't do a
pit. You'll ruin the car. The
car is about to run out of
battery, so they just they just
followed the car. By the way,
there were at least two people,
maybe three people in there.
And then one of the people in
there is suspected of attacking
a guy with an axe. And no, I do
not have the owner here. I
don't have the owner here. I
don't have the owner here.
Absolutely as somebody who has
covered pursuits and covered
stolen cars for. 30 years here
in Fox 11. How did it feel? And
does this change your
perspective at all in terms of
your work? It certainly changes
my perspective on how to park
my car from here on end. I'm
going to put it in ballet mode,
which would not give them
access to the trunk. Everything
else. I mean, I think that the
greatest thing was being able
to communicate to the officers
through other officers. Just
wait for the car to die and
don't do anything radical like
a pit maneuver. So that was
great. And, um, yeah, it's
unusual feeling to be on the
other side to be the crime
victim, not. The reporter
talking to a crime victim, but
all in all, look, I'm okay. I
can't. I can't. I can't. I can't
do this. I can't do this. I can't
do this. I can't do this. My
car is in service right now,
and presumably I'll get it back
by tomorrow. Let's hope so.
Well, the stuff can be replaced.
You cannot. So thank goodness,
Susan that you're here. Let us
know if we can do anything for
you. Of course, you were
supposed to work today for
obvious reasons. You're not.
But thanks for taking the time
to be with us tonight at six
o'clock. I know a lot of people
reached out. And they were
worried about you. A lot of
people love you, Susan here in
