San Diego

A “cat and mouse game” involving two cars traveling south on Interstate 805 ended with the death of a 15-year-old San Diego boy, a CHP spokesman said Wednesday.

Lum Nguyen of the 2300 block of Gatling Court was pronounced dead at the scene Tuesday after the car in which he was riding crashed into a tree after bouncing off the divider between the Balboa Avenue off-ramp and the freeway.

Nguyen’s brother, 19-year-old Luu Nguyen, was driving. He was taken to Sharp Memorial Hospital, where he remained Wednesday in serious condition with internal injuries. Neither of the brothers was wearing a seat belt, the California Highway Patrol spokesman said.

The car was playing a cat-and-mouse game, in which each driver speeds up and tries to pass the other, with friends in another car as they traveled south on I-805 from Miramar, the spokesman said. When the car the Nguyens were following made a sudden exit at Balboa Avenue, Luu Nguyen attempted to cut over from the left lane to follow but could not avoid the divider, police said.

Police talked to the drivers of both cars, and reports on the case will be forwarded to the district attorney’s office for review.