Featured Image Credit: SkyKCAL
Topics: Crime, Los Angeles, News, US News
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News anchors were left visibly reeling after a man they were watching was killed during a live broadcast of a police chase.
On Monday (October 20) night, KCBS-TV tuned in to helicopter footage of Los Angeles cops zoning in on a suspected car thief.
The intense almost 30-minute-long chase captured from the chopper shows a white van racing down the freeway with blue flashing lights following closely behind.
However, the nail-biting scene came to a head when the alleged suspect appeared to 'jump' out of the van while it was moving in the Mount Washington region.
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As he bundled out of the slowing vehicle, he could then be seen climbing over the central reservation on the 110 Freeway and onto the opposing carriageway in what appears an attempt to flee.
Yet as the camera zoomed in to capture him scurrying to his feet on the other side, split seconds later he was fatally struck by a car travelling in the opposing lane after he hopped over the barrier.
This meant both viewers at home and the anchors witnessed the horrific crash in grim detail, prompting TV reporter Juan Fernandez to cry out: "Whoa, wow! Oh my god! Oh no! Oh no!"
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Assignment editor Mike Rogers then urged the camera operator to zoom out.
"Stay wide, stay wide," he said. "He got hit."
As the broadcast then cut to the studio, Fernandez held his hand to his face with his mouth open in apparent shock.
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Stepping in to explain, his co-anchor Suzie Suh said: "We just saw the person who was being pursued get out of their car and actually get hit by another speeding car."
According to KTLA 5, police have confirmed the suspect was struck by at least two vehicles and died at the scene.
The man is yet to be formally identified by the county medical examiner but the authorities have confirmed the suspect was male and in his 30s, as per the Daily Mail.
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The LAPD told the outlet that members of the police department had begun their pursuit of the alleged suspect in Downtown LA just after 8.30pm on Monday.
It is believed the man had stolen the van that cops were following him in.
The force also said he had refused to pull over when ordered to do so by an officer, leading to the high-speed chase on the freeway before he was tragically hit.
Animal control were also reportedly in attendance at the scene to remove a dog from inside the van, the Los Angeles Fire Department said.
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An investigation by LAPD is currently underway.