Costa Mesa man killed in pursuit crash is identified; 9-year-old daughter critically injured

A Costa Mesa man who died Sunday night in a crash after a high-speed police pursuit, with his 9-year-old daughter left critically injured, has been identified as 43-year-old Juan Rodriguez, police said.

Police received a call at 10:22 p.m. about a man brandishing a firearm at a restaurant on McFadden Avenue in Santa Ana, said Santa Ana police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna.

Officers saw a vehicle matching the description given by the caller at South Standard and East Warner avenues and tried to stop it, but the driver fled, Bertagna said.

Police lost sight of the vehicle after speeds topped 80 mph as it traveled west on Warner, Bertagna said.

A short time later, officers came across the scene of a crash involving the same vehicle, which apparently had hit a light pole on Warner and careened into a brick wall surrounding the backyard of a home in the 1700 block of West Pendleton Avenue.

The driver, later identified as Rodriguez, died at the scene, Bertagna said.

Officers didn’t know his daughter was in the vehicle until they saw her trapped in the back seat after the crash, Bertagna said.

Orange County Fire Authority personnel used hydraulic equipment to rescue the girl, despite live wires “flopping around” at the scene, Bertagna said.

The girl was taken to a hospital in critical condition and was later listed as stable.

Inside the vehicle, investigators found $13,000 in cash, a loaded gun and a half-pound to a pound of narcotics, Bertagna said.

The driver was wanted on three outstanding warrants involving narcotics sales, Bertagna said.