A car went crashing into the Manhattan Beach Pier at 1 a.m. this morning as its driver, under the influence, tried to escape police.
The driver, identified as Devin Ashley Chavez, 28, of Cypress by the Manhattan Beach Police Department, took off after a police officer tried to pull him over for a traffic stop near Pacific Elementary School on Pacific Avenue and Manhattan Beach Boulevard. The officer had noticed him driving slowly without lights.
Chavez fled down Manhattan Beach Boulevard toward the water. He crashed into a fake concrete barrier at the base of the pier but continued onto the pier, colliding with a cement bench. His car was propelled 100 feet down the 1,000-foot pier, where it came to a stop.
After being taken to the hospital, Chavez was booked into the custody of the MBPD. He will remain there until tomorrow, when he will be arraigned at the Torrance Court. He was arrested for possessing cocaine, driving under the influence and evading police.
The pier’s lifeguard station suffered some minor damage to its door and stucco when the concrete barrier that Chavez hit crashed into the station. The police temporarily closed the area for a safety evaluation, but it has since been reopened.
