Woman, in her 20s, drives BMW into Pacific Ocean leaving her two dogs inside car after wild police chase through the streets of Los Angeles

A Los Angeles woman on a high-speed chase with police drove her luxury SUV into the ocean and left her two dogs in her vehicle, which was knocked on its side by the powerful surf.

The Boston Terriers were rescued by lifeguards shortly after midnight on Sunday after the woman swam away from her waterlogged BMW X3 in the Pacific Ocean.

The woman was pulled from the churning waves after swimming “like a professional athlete” from the doomed car to the fishing pier at Venice Beach, California.

“It looked like something out of an action movie, with this car careening through the sand and crashing into the water,” an onlooker, who gave her name as Sarah Jane, told DailyMail.com. She said she was surprised the woman survived.

According to the California High Patrol, officers attempted to pull over the car for speeding on the 10 Freeway in downtown Los Angeles.

The woman was seen paddling in the water as a Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department boat attempted to rescue her by throwing a floating donut into the ocean, which she grabbed onto and was then lifted onto the boat.

The next morning her car was recovered from the water, much to the astonishment of passers-by

The chase ended in Venice when the woman – reportedly in her 20s – drove her car across the sand into the Pacific Ocean.

“It was cold, dark and the waves were choppy,” said Sarah Jane, a tourist from England.

“I really don’t know how she managed to survive, let alone swim such a long distance.”

While onlookers on the pier tried to help by shouting at the woman, some were less than helpful when they discovered the driver had left two of her dogs in the car.

Video footage shows the dramatic moment two lifeguards approach the submerged car with flashlights as they search for other passengers.

As a lifeguard peers in, he gestures to the other lifeguard to indicate that someone is in the vehicle.

Then the lifeguard opened the backseat door as the waves crashed against the car – only to pull out a small dog, a Boston Terrier.

You then see the lifeguard walking back to the sand where two red lifeguard pickup trucks are parked as other onlookers watch in disbelief.

The car rocks in the waves after the woman, who was chased by police, drove the vehicle over the sand and into the water

Rescuers rushed to pull the woman and her dogs from the Pacific Ocean

A spotlight is focused on the woman, who was in the water after diving in

The suspect then swam into the ocean before being picked up by a police boat a short distance from shore

There was a large police presence on the beach on Saturday evening and Sunday morning

“Another dog, another Boston Terrier, managed to get out of the car while it was still moving and snaking through the sand.

“He was seen running nervously through the sand until someone picked him up and held him in an attempt to calm him down,” said Josh Sullivan, who was walking his own dog at the time of the incident.

The woman was seen paddling in the water as a Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department boat attempted to rescue her by tossing a floating donut into the ocean, which she grabbed and then lifted onto the boat.

According to Officer Erik Larson of the California Highway Patrol, the chase began at 11:21 PM on Saturday in El Monte and ended at 12:03 PM on Sunday in Venice Beach.

“Both dogs were picked up by animal control,” Larson told DailyMail.com

An officer told DailyMail.com that the woman was taken to hospital and the dogs remain at Animal Care Services.

The next morning, beachgoers unaware of the incident were surprised to discover a car being towed from the water onto land and later removed.

The windshield was shattered and piles of sand could be seen on the front and back seats. There were also skid marks in the sand.

One person joked that it was an early start to Saint Patrick’s Day in Venice Beach. CHP withheld the woman’s identity and said they will release it Monday morning.