LOS ANGELES — Like countless others before her, Lisa Ann Heflin of Oakview, Mo., headed to Los Angeles earlier this year chasing a dream of fame and fortune.

What she found instead was notoriety.

The Los Angeles County district attorney's office has identified Heflin, 41, as the driver of a white van that plowed into oncoming traffic on the 405 Freeway last week after crashing into several police cruisers and leading police on a wild pursuit.

The office on Wednesday charged Heflin with 10 counts of assault upon a peace officer, four counts of assault with a deadly weapon, one count of fleeing a pursuing peace officer's motor vehicle while driving recklessly and one count of hit-and-run driving resulting in property damage.

"It was remarkable," Los Angeles Police Deputy Assistant Chief Daniel Randolph said of the pursuit during Tuesday's Police Commission meeting. Nine LAPD officers were injured, and the driver caused more than $150,000 in damage to five police vehicles, he said.

A mother of four, Heflin documented much of her journey west on Facebook, X and TikTok. She apparently made it to Los Angeles without her kids, who range in age from elementary school to a teenager; according to relatives, Heflin did not have full custody of them.

In her posts, Heflin wears her hair long and dark. She smiles in her photos, appearing composed — a far cry from the bloodied person who was photographed after crashing on the 405 Freeway.

"Chasin my dreams as a 'California Daydreamer,'" she wrote in herTikTok bio.

Heflin also posted photos of her children on social media. In recent weeks, friends and family in Missouri commented on her posts, concerned about her well-being.

Someone wrote under her most recent post: "Haven't heard from you in almost a week. Seriously getting worried. Hope your ok."

...continued

©2024 Los Angeles Times. Visit at latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.