The driver behind the wheel of a flatbed truck that crashed into several vehicles in a pursuit from near the USC campus to Long Beach last week has been charged with attempted murder and carjacking.
Adam Bowen, 40, faces 11 felony counts in connection with the chase Friday that left a trail of damaged vehicles on Seventh Street in Long Beach and ended with a crash in a paint store parking lot. Bowen walked away from the crash and was arrested a few blocks away, bringing the destructive rampage to an end.
The series of crimes began Friday, when Bowen allegedly carjacked a tow truck operator and tried to run him over with the truck, according to authorities. The tow truck driver was injured in the confrontation.
Bowen then stole the flatbed truck, leading to the high-speed chase on freeways and streets, according to prosecutors. The stolen truck’s owner said he was delivering car parts to a body shop at the time.
The driver of a stolen flatbed truck crashed into cars at the end of a pursuit in Long Beach. Video broadcast Friday March 28, 2025 on the NBC4 News at 4 p.m.
At one point, the driver hopped a curb and drove onto a sidewalk to avoid cars stopped at an intersection in Pico Rivera. The truck appeared to scrape a fence before nearly striking a bus at the intersection.
The driver then entered the 605 Freeway in Whittier and went the wrong way on several streets in the community southeast of downtown Los Angeles before returning to the freeway. The driver remained on the freeway through Santa Fe Springs, Norwalk and other communities in southern Los Angeles County.
In Long Beach, a harrowing chain of events unfolded on Seventh Street when the driver plowed through cars stopped at an intersection and struck several other vehicles before crashing in front of a Sherwin-Williams Paint Store on Termino Avenue.
“This was an extremely reckless and brazen act that endangered the lives of other drivers and pedestrians that could have resulted in a far more tragic outcome,” Los Angeles County District Attorney Hochman said. “A tow truck driver suffered major injuries as he tried to prevent it from being stolen. The level of callous disregard for public safety is unacceptable and we will vigorously pursue justice for all of the victims in this case.”
Bowen was charged Wednesday with one count each of attempted murder and carjacking; four counts of assault with a deadly weapon; two counts of hit and run resulting in serious injury; and one count each of fleeing a pursuing police officer’s vehicle, resisting arrest and grand theft of an automobile.
Arraignment was scheduled for Thursday.
If convicted as charged, Bowen faces a possible maximum sentence of life in state prison.
One driver whose car was struck described the frightening moment when he was hit by the speeding truck.
“This guy is unreal. I’m about to die, or something’s about to blow up,” said Clarence Taylor, who was on his way from the Veterans Affairs Long Beach Health Care center. “The seat belt kept me in.
“He just ran into the side, and he kept going. I thought his brakes weren’t working or something. It was just really violent.”
Taylor said his vehicle ended up under a cement truck.
At least nine cars were involved in about four separate crashes near the end of the pursuit, leaving a trail of shattered glass and other debris on Seventh Street for blocks.
At least three people were taken to a hospital to be treated for injuries following the spree of collisions along Seventh Street.
