Hitchhiker Gets a Front Seat for Chase

A hitchhiker who unwittingly accepted a ride from a man driving a stolen car had a front-row seat for a 30-minute police chase from Los Angeles to Glendale that reached 80 m.p.h. and at one point was going the wrong way on the Ventura Freeway, authorities said.

During the pursuit, Tommy Lee Jones frantically tried to persuade the car’s driver, Ed Palamara, to let him out, Los Angeles police said. And when Palamara was finally stopped about 3:15 a.m. in a parking lot at the Glendale police station, Jones had to persuade police officers that he was a victim, not an accomplice.

Jones, 34, of Los Angeles, was handcuffed and taken into custody with Palamara, but later was released after police were convinced by his story.

“He wasn’t involved,” Sgt. Bob Grant said. “He just hitched a ride on the wrong car. He was trying to get out, but the driver wouldn’t stop. He was . . . screaming the whole time to be released.”

Grant said Palamara, 33, of Los Angeles was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon because at one point during the chase, he allegedly tried to ram the stolen car into two police cars.