Teen Killed in Crash During Police Chase

A 14-year-old Santa Ana boy riding in the back of a stolen pickup that was being chased by police was killed instantly when the vehicle flew off Interstate 5 at Oceanside and crashed into an apartment parking lot 75 feet below the freeway, police reported Sunday.

Three other minors in the truck were injured, one of them critically, in the crash late Saturday night after a 35-mile, two-county chase by Irvine patrol cars, a Costa Mesa police helicopter and California Highway Patrol units.

The truck, traveling at speeds exceeding 95 m.p.h., swerved through traffic on the busy freeway, sometimes using the right-hand shoulder to pass.

The dead teen-ager was identified by the San Diego County coroner’s office as Enrique Solario. He died of head injuries, coroner’s officials said. The office said the other youths in the pickup were between the ages of 14 and 17.

The truck went over the side of the freeway between Mission Avenue and Oceanside Boulevard.

Irvine police said they received a call shortly after 9 p.m. Saturday from a woman who reported that people in a truck and car were either trying to burglarize her automobile or steal it from the front of her Irvine home.

Officers spotted the truck and the late model Toyota going north on Culver Drive near Warner Avenue.

Police said the car, which had also been stolen, turned right on Walnut Avenue and sped down the street and into Heritage Park, where it crashed into an abutment.

Two teen-agers were arrested on suspicion of car theft.

The truck continued north on Culver and onto I-5, with two Irvine police patrol cars after it.

95 M.P.H. on Freeway

Officers reported that the truck maintained a speed of at least 95 m.p.h. on the freeway through Lake Forest, Laguna Hills, Saddleback Valley, San Clemente, Camp Pendleton and into Oceanside.

Costa Mesa’s Eagle 3 police helicopter was called on in the chase but had to turn back because of low clouds and fog.

Before the chase entered Oceanside, the Irvine patrol cars pulled back and were replaced by CHP units.

The injured youngsters were taken to Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla, the CHP said. The driver of the stolen truck was in critical condition.