It is an axiom of journalism that the reporter should not be the story. But Fox 11 anchor and reporter Susan Hirasuna ended up inadvertently violating that rule when she became the victim of a crime.
Hirasuna parked her car near the United Theater on Broadway in downtown Los Angeles on Thursday. She was attening a concert in the area.
After the concert, Hirasuna discovered her Tesla had been stolen. She drove to the LAPD administrative building on Main St. to file a report, but discovered patrol officers had already attempted to stop the vehicle for reckless driving.
Hirasuna noticed from police radio chatter that her app was tracking the vehicle. She also noticed that her electric vehicle’s battery was down to 15 miles of range.
The police were informed and decided to simply follow until the battery power failed.
A suspect was arrested, and Hirasuna said at least three people were in the vehicle.
That wasn’t the end of the story. LAPD discovered one suspect in the car may have been connected to an assault on Skid Row in which a person was struck with an ax. Officers discovered blood on the inside of the passenger door, and the vehicle was impounded for prints.
“This certainly changes my perspective on how to park my car,” Hirasuna said. “I’m going to put it in valet mode, which wouldn’t give them access to the trunk. Everything in my car is gone. And it means they couldn’t drive that fast.”
See Hirasuna describe what happened in the video above.