Mercedes-Benz Driver Dies as Car Hurtles Off Freeway at 110 M.P.H.
A man who was driving a car that topped speeds of 110 m.p.h. was killed Sunday morning when his Mercedes-Benz sedan hurtled off the Ventura Freeway near the Ventura County line.
The unidentified man, who was about 40 years old, was southbound on the freeway in Agoura Hills near Palo Comado Canyon Road about 8:15 a.m. when he lost control of the car, authorities said.
California Highway Patrol officers monitored the vehicle by radar instead of chasing it in a perilous high-speed pursuit because they believed their patrol cars could not keep up with the speeding Mercedes-Benz, Officer Lujuana Lopez said.
Lopez said the man was thrown from the car when it crashed. He was taken to Westlake Community Hospital, where he was pronounced dead shortly before 9 a.m.
The car’s driver apparently was not carrying identification papers at the time of the accident and a spokesman for the Los Angeles coroner’s office said they had not been able to identify him.
According to CHP guidelines, patrol units will not continue a chase if, in the officer’s opinion, continuing the pursuit would pose a great risk to himself or the public, said Officer Shirley Gaines.
Gaines said there is no specified speed beyond which CHP officers will break off a chase.
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