COMPTON, Calif. - A reckless DUI suspect who was seen huffing a balloon while leading officers on a pursuit through a Compton neighborhood Thursday is refusing to surrender and remains in a standoff with authorities.Right now the suspect is apparently inhaling nitrous from a bottle as he vapes an unknown substance in the driver's seat.Officials have been deploying pepper balls in the vicinity of the truck, breaking a portion of the back window, in an attempt to get the driver out of the white pickup truck but have not yet been successful.LA County Sheriff's deputies began to pursue the driver because of reckless driving and suspected DUI.Earlier, the driver crossed a center divider and struck at least one patrol car.
The driver was somehow able to evade at least three PIT maneuvers.The pursuit came to a stop around 1 p.m. once he hit a dead-end a few feet from the wash and got boxed in by authorities.The suspected DUI driver appeared to be huffing before deputies attempted a pit-maneuver in an attempt to bring the pursuit to a safe ending.After a few minutes, the man tried to back into the law enforcement vehicles, but could not get away, spinning the tires and sending up a plume of smoke into the air.
The deputies tossed a gas container into the cab of that pickup, but the standoff continued.SkyFOX's Stu Mundel is live overhead.