San Fernando Valley pursuit: Woman steals van with elderly cancer patient inside

LOS ANGELES - A woman in a stolen senior transportation van, with an elderly man inside, was taken into custody Thursday morning after leading authorities on a high-speed pursuit across the San Fernando Valley.

The suspect, later identified as Lindsey Gordonellyson, was seen driving erratically in a Golden Age Senior Daycare van at a high rate of speed across Van Nuys. The senior center is located in Tarzana.

SkyFOX images from the scene showed the passenger side door open throughout the pursuit. At least one elderly person was inside the van during the chase. He has been identified by family as 93-year-old Abby Javaheri. 

"He went through an ordeal that no one should go through. Being his age, 93, he's battling cancer," said Kambiz Merabi, the victim's father-in-law. "He didn't have his seatbelt on because he just got in the car and the door of the minivan was open."

Merabi says he got a call on his phone from a friend who watched the pursuit live.

After a brief pursuit, Gordonellyson was taken into custody after driving into a dead-end near Tyrone Avenue and Covello Street in Van Nuys.

According to police, the van had a tracking system that was activated when officers spotted the vehicle about 9 a.m.

``The van was transporting (someone) to another facility and, for whatever reason, the driver had to do something and the female jumped in and took off in the vehicle," said Officer Ed Lopez of the LAPD's Media Relations Division. 

Gordonellyson was booked on kidnapping charges and is being held on $125,000 bail.