Pair Riding in Stolen Car Die as Chase Ends in Crash

Two young men being chased by a Fullerton police officer were killed Wednesday near Brea when a stolen car they were riding in slammed into a bridge abutment and split in half, officials said.

The dead were not immediately identified but may have been “juveniles or young adults, maybe in the 17-, 18- or 19-year-old range,” said Sgt. Jeff Roop, a Fullerton Police Department spokesman. Roop said the officer followed the stolen car only for “two freeway exits and never really caught up to them before the crash.”

It was the second Orange County police chase in 3 days to end in a wreck.

Roop said the officer never drove faster than 60 m.p.h. because the roads were rain-slicked and he feared for his own safety. The stolen car, however, “had to be going really fast because the car was torn completely in half on impact,” Roop added. “It was a very short chase. Not your standard car chase.”

Chase Begins

It came about after Sgt. Mike Stedman began watching a Honda Prelude about 2:45 a.m. in the 1400 block of Deerpark Drive, a neighborhood of apartments with a high number of car thefts.

The Prelude and another car appeared to be trolling suspiciously through the neighborhood, and Stedman began following both cars, which picked up speed, then split up.

Stedman pursued the Prelude as it entered the Orange Freeway at Yorba Linda Boulevard, Lt. Ron Rowell said. But after the officer pulled the car over for speeding and walked toward it, the driver of the Prelude sped off, Rowell said.

The sergeant ran back to his squad car and resumed chasing the car on the freeway. He saw it exit at Tonner Canyon Road, then dim its lights, Roop said. Stedman, in fact, could not keep up with the Prelude and a few minutes later pulled up to the wreckage on southbound Brea Canyon Road.

Roop said investigators believe that the theft of the Prelude from the Deerpark area had just taken place, because the car had not yet been reported missing.

Though Stedman launched the chase in Fullerton, the California Highway Patrol is investigating because the crash occurred in county territory.

“Due to the heavy rain and high speed, it appears they slid off the road,” CHP Officer Keith Thornhill said.

On Monday, a high-speed pursuit of a suspected car thief that started in Anaheim ended in a three-car pileup on the Artesia Freeway and injury to one motorist.

An Anaheim Police Department helicopter followed the car as it wound through Anaheim and Buena Park, entering the freeway at Valley View Street and finally crashing into two other cars near the San Gabriel River Freeway. One of the drivers received facial cuts and was treated at a local hospital.

One person was arrested on suspicion of violating parole, possessing stolen property, attempting to evade officers, reckless driving and assault with a deadly weapon.

In the past, some police pursuits have generated controversy. Border Patrol pursuits through the city of San Clemente have resulted in the deaths of several fleeing illegal aliens and concern by residents and city officials that innocent bystanders might one day be harmed.

In 1987, two law enforcement helicopters collided while helping ground units in a high-speed chase. The copter crash resulted in the deaths of two Costa Mesa police officers and an observer.

Roop said the Fullerton Police Department’s nine-page policy regarding officer pursuits essentially says that officers should try to halt the suspects even if the driver fails to yield. Officers are told they have the option to call off the chase if it appears danger is present.