A roadside carjacking in Fontana led to a nearly hour-long multi-jurisdiction pursuit that traversed the 10, 101, 5 and 710 freeways. The vehicle’s owner, Ronald Knesil, struggled with the suspect in the cab for about ten minutes before being thrown clear and left with minor injuries. Officers attempted a PIT maneuver and later deployed spike strips without success; the chase ended in Lynwood just after 2:20 p.m. when a K-9 unit apprehended the suspect, who was transported to an ambulance with reported injuries. The investigation is ongoing and charges had not been announced.
Carjacking In Fontana: Stolen Pickup Flees Across Freeways Before K-9 Unit Ends Nearly Hour-Long Chase
Image Credit: ABC 7.
Fontana, CA — A brazen carjacking at a Fontana restaurant parking lot led to a sprawling, multi-jurisdiction freeway pursuit that survived a PIT maneuver and spike strips — and ended only after a police K-9 apprehended the suspect in Lynwood.
The incident began Friday afternoon in the parking lot of the China Cook restaurant when the suspect approached Ronald Knesil and asked for a ride. Knesil refused, turned toward the rear of his pickup and was startled when the suspect took his keys. The two struggled inside the cab for roughly ten minutes before the suspect started the truck, shifted into reverse and accelerated out of the lot, throwing Knesil from the vehicle. Knesil suffered scrapes to his elbow as the truck clipped a curb, knocked down a sign and merged into traffic.
Fontana Police quickly initiated a pursuit that moved onto the freeway system. The stolen pickup traveled onto the 10 Freeway, then the 101 — at which point the California Highway Patrol (CHP) assumed coordination — and continued onto the 5 Freeway southbound through East Los Angeles before heading south on the 710. Witnesses reported the suspect driving on the wrong side of the road at times, weaving through congested surface streets and making hand gestures from the vehicle.
Officers attempted a PIT (Precision Immobilization Technique) maneuver at South Boyle Avenue and East 8th Street around 1:48 p.m., and also tried to box the truck in; the suspect escaped. A later spike strip deployment was also ineffective after the truck slowed and avoided it. CHP training notes that PIT maneuvers are practiced at low speeds on closed courses and are less reliable in congested urban freeway conditions — a factor visible during this pursuit.
The chase covered a large portion of Southern California’s freeway network. The direct distance from Fontana to Lynwood is roughly 40 miles, and freeway ramps and loops increased actual mileage. By the time the truck exited into a residential Lynwood neighborhood shortly after 2:20 p.m., the pursuit had passed through multiple jurisdictions and lasted nearly an hour.
As the suspect slowed near Wright Road and Fertile Street, officers moved to box the vehicle. One CHP officer positioned ahead of the pickup to deploy a spike strip, but because the truck decelerated the attempt failed. When the driver initially stepped out with his hands up it briefly appeared he might surrender — then he jogged away.
The resulting foot pursuit was short. A K-9 unit engaged the suspect and he was taken into custody. Authorities reported the suspect was later loaded into an ambulance for injuries sustained during the canine contact; specific medical details were not released. At the time of reporting, formal charges had not been announced and the investigation remained active.
Back in Fontana, Knesil watched the chase unfold on television while tracking his truck. He reiterated that he had no intention of giving up the vehicle without a struggle and said the pickup sustained some damage during the attempted PIT maneuver. He praised the Fontana Police Department for their quick response.
What remains clear: the pursuit highlights the challenges of safely ending freeway chases in dense urban areas, the limits of standard termination techniques such as PIT maneuvers and spike strips in heavy traffic, and the role K-9 units can play in bringing dangerous pursuits to a close.
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