How NOT to Try and Kill Yourself During Police Chase

A high speed pursuit involving an LAUSD teacher accused of a lewd act with a 14-year-old student ended when the man’s car went airborne and crashed into a tree. The suspect has been identified as Kip Arnold, a victim’s attorney told KTLA News. It all started just after 12:30 p.m. when detectives, who had been watching Arnold’s home, approached the suspect’s pick-up. Arnold reportedly told officers he wanted to kill himself and drove off. Detectives had been watching his home in Lakewood for about a day as part of an ongoing investigation, police said. Attorney Mark Haushalter says Kip Arnold, who was a physical education coach at Nimitz Middle School at the time of the alleged crime, had at least two victims, his client and another girl she compared notes with. His client says the alleged abuse happened 7 years ago when she was just 14 years old. Arnold is currently a teacher at Southeast Middle School in South Gate. He has also worked at Gage Middle School and Orchard Academies 2B. The school district and the district attorney’s office had been working with investigators, he said. The chase came to a brief stop in Torrance when an officer performed a PIT maneuver, sending Arnold’s truck spinning into the side of a big rig. But after a moment, he took off again. A few minutes later, he drove off Crenshaw Boulevard and plunged down an embankment in Rancho Palos Verdes. The vehicle went airborne and crashed into a tree about 1:30 p.m. Fire crews were able to extricate Arnold from the vehicle, which came to rest on a hillside at Crenshaw Boulevard and North Indian Peak. His condition was not immediately known, but he is expected to survive.