CHP Officer Killed in Crash During Pursuit

A California Highway Patrol officer was killed when he lost control of his car while chasing a suspected drunk driver, who also was injured along with his two children, authorities said Tuesday.

Rescuers had to cut Officer Michael Brandt out of his demolished Mustang patrol car, which rolled over on a winding stretch of California 74, but he died after being airlifted to Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, CHP Officer Tom Granger said.

Three miles from the fatal crash, Daniel Lee Thompkins, 29, of Fallbrook, the subject of Brandt’s pursuit, lost control of his pickup truck on the two-lane highway, and it careened 200 feet down a mountainside and caught fire, Granger said.

Robert Thompkins, 4, and Charley Thompkins, 3, were in serious condition at Desert Hospital in Palm Springs, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Thompkins was treated for minor injuries at John F. Kennedy Hospital in Indio before being booked for investigation of felony drunk driving, felony manslaughter and felony child endangerment, the officer said. He was being held in lieu of $15,000 bail.

“The investigation indicates Officer Brandt was attempting to stop Thompkins for a violation when Officer Brandt lost control of his vehicle,” Granger said. “We know they were aware of each other’s presence.”

Brandt apparently lost control at about 8 p.m. Monday and his car hit a hill and became airborne, rolling over alongside California 74, a mountainous highway that carries traffic from the Coachella Valley into the San Jacinto Mountains 120 miles east of Los Angeles, investigators said.

Investigators were not sure why Brandt lost control of his vehicle, Granger said. A special CHP accident investigation team was examining evidence, he said.

Brandt, a 7 1/2-year CHP veteran, lived in the Bermuda Dunes area with his wife and twin 5-year-old daughters.

County Fire Engineer Brad Smith said it appeared Thompkins’ truck rolled over three or four times before coming to rest upside down.

CHP Sgt. Ray Pierce said he noticed a burning pickup truck just off the highway and pulled Thompkins and the youngsters from the wreckage.