Officer Killed in Crash May Have Run Light : Officials Say Seal Beach Patrolman Might Have Been in Pursuit Without His Flashing Lights

A Seal Beach police officer who was killed in a fiery three-car collision late Tuesday was traveling at “a high rate of speed” without emergency lights, possibly in a pursuit, and may have run a red light, authorities said Wednesday.

Edward William Clavell Jr., 31, of Westminster died shortly after the 8:45 p.m. crash at Westminster Avenue and Seal Beach Boulevard, authorities said. Four people were injured when the patrol car collided with a Fiat and a pickup truck in the Seal Beach intersection.

Two Hospitalized

Stuart Kepler, 21, of Long Beach and Kathy Bell, 18, of Rossmoor--passengers in the pickup truck--were admitted to hospitals for treatment of facial cuts and head injuries, authorities said. Kepler was listed in good condition Wednesday at Memorial Medical Center of Long Beach; Bell was in good condition at Kaiser-Permanente Hospital in Bellflower.

The driver of the pickup truck, John Borbon, 20, of Los Alamitos, and Fiat driver Kathy Zepeda, 33, of Surfside were released after treatment for cuts and bruises.

Zepeda said she was driving south on Seal Beach Boulevard and was crossing Westminster Avenue when the westbound patrol car came “out of nowhere,” ran a red light and hit the front end of her car.

“All I can remember is that someone hit me real hard, and I was screaming,” Zepeda said. “I thought I was going to die.”

California Highway Patrol investigators confirmed that Clavell did not have his emergency lights on at the time of the crash and that he was driving faster than the 40- to 45-m.p.h. speed limits in that area. However, authorities said they have not yet determined whether Clavell was pursuing another vehicle at the time of the crash.

The patrolman did not radio the station with any information to that effect, Seal Beach Police Capt. Ken Garrett said Wednesday.

After hitting the Fiat, the officer’s patrol car struck a pole on the median strip and slammed into the eastbound pickup truck, which was waiting to turn left from Westminster onto Seal Beach Boulevard, according to CHP investigator Leslie Hill. The impact flipped the truck over on its roof, Hill said. None of the three in the pickup truck were wearing seat belts, Hill said.

The driver’s door of the patrol car, a Ford Mustang, was smashed. Minutes after the crash, two CHP officers happened by and found Clavell’s car on fire. They then worked to free the trapped officer from the burning vehicle.

Clavell was unconscious, said one of the CHP officers, Michael Bernardin, who helped to pull the Seal Beach officer from the burning patrol car. “And if (Clavell) wasn’t dead, I felt he was pretty darn close to it.”

Bernardin said they had to cut the officer’s seat belts because he had gotten tangled in them.

An autopsy is scheduled today, according to a spokesman for the Los Angeles county coroner’s office. The investigation is being conducted by the CHP, and is expected to take about two months to complete, Hill said.

Clavell came to the Seal Beach Police Department from the Orange County Sheriff’s Department in 1986. Previously, he worked for the Westminster Police Department from 1980 to 1981.

Clavell was described by his superiors at the Seal Beach Police Department as “dedicated and enthusiastic . . . an exceptional officer,” said Michele Stearns, a spokeswoman for the Police Department.

In a prepared statement, Clavell’s family said he will be remembered as a man who “always gave 150% of himself in whatever he did,” according to Stearns.

The officer is survived by his father, Edward William Clavell Sr. of San Diego; his mother, Sandra Lee Clavell of the San Francisco Bay Area; sisters Cheryl Marie Masters of Moreno Valley and Dennise Garrett of Riverside; and an aunt, Marla Hartman of San Diego.

The funeral will be at 12:30 p.m. Saturday at the Church of Our Fathers, Forest Lawn Mortuary, 4471 Lincoln Ave. in Cypress, according to the Seal Beach Police Department.