Big rig thief surrenders after three-hour police chase across Southern California

The truck belonged to a hazardous waste management company, but luckily the materials inside were neither flammable, explosive, acidic, biologic nor radioactive

A California Highway Patrol cruiser pursues the rig through the Southern California desert on Tuesday ((NBC))

A man thought to have stolen a big rig filled with what appeared to be hazardous materials led police on a three-hour pursuit along the freeways of Southern California before surrendering quietly at a truck stop on Tuesday afternoon.

The driver of the rig noticed it had been stolen from outside his hotel in Barstow, California at around 6am. The authorities were alerted and the vehicle tracked using a GPS device in its trailer. At around 10.30am a California Highway Patrol officer spotted the truck, whose driver refused to pull over and sped onto a freeway with several CHP cruisers giving chase.

At one point the pursuit was being watched by some 120,000 people via Facebook Live. A logo on the side of the rig indicated that it belonged to a hazardous waste management company, Advanced Chemical Transport, but officials said the materials inside were neither flammable, explosive, acidic, biologic nor radioactive.

The truck passed through San Bernardino and Riverside counties, and by 1.30pm it was reportedly on California Highway 62 close to Joshua Tree National Park. The driver’s identity has not been disclosed, but he reportedly spoke with officers by phone, telling them he “didn’t want to go back to jail.”

Eventually, the man pulled into a truck stop and gave himself up.