BearCat slams into stolen big rig, bringing pursuit with kidnapping suspect to an end
By Austin Turner, Hunter Sowards, Luzdelia Caballero, Dean Fioresi
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ORANGE COUNTY, California (KCAL, KCBS) — A wild multi-county pursuit came to a sudden end in Orange County on Wednesday afternoon when a BearCat slammed into an allegedly stolen big rig out of the Inland Empire.
The Fontana Police Department said the pursuit started at about 9:30 a.m. after officers determined that the driver was allegedly using “cold plates,” which means the license plates attached to the truck were deemed to be fake or from another vehicle.
The driver was identified as 54-year-old Bill Fayed of Buena Park.
A man, later identified as 42-year-old Carlos Mesta, a resident of Rancho Cucamonga, was in the passenger seat. According to Fontana police, he called his daughter at one point to tell her that the driver won’t let him out of the vehicle. Fayed then took the phone.
The relationship between Fayed and Mesta is not clear.
While the pursuit began in the center of Fontana, Fayed drove to Orange County by 10:19 a.m. He took the 57 Freeway from Brea to Fullerton and was in Anaheim by 10:30 a.m.
At one point in Anaheim, Fayed came to a stop, threw what appeared to be a water bottle outside of the truck, and continued driving.
At 10:58 a.m. in Buena Park, Mesta reached out of the vehicle and appeared to grab onto a nearby vehicle. Immediately after, an armored North County SWAT BearCat vehicle rammed into the side of the big rig.
The big rig appeared to sustain some damage to its driver’s side, but the driver continued on the streets of Buena Park.
At 11:04 a.m., Fayed stopped the vehicle in the intersection of Beach Boulevard and Franklin Street in Buena Park. Soon after, he surrendered to officers, with Mesta safely giving himself up to the police, who had surrounded the semi truck.
According to Fontana PD, both men had outstanding warrants, including a grand theft auto warrant for Fayed, who they said was armed and dangerous during the pursuit, authorities said.
It’s not yet clear if there will be kidnapping charges, but Mesta was taken to a nearby hospital by paramedics for undisclosed reasons.
No officers were injured during the pursuit. Multiple law enforcement agencies assisted.
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