Irvine : Driver Fleeing Police Dies After Stolen Car Rams Asphalt Roller
A suspected car thief being pursued by police died Thursday night after he rammed a stolen car into a 10-ton asphalt roller parked on the street at a construction site, police said Friday.
The man, whose identity was withheld pending notification of relatives, was fleeing police at speeds of up to 80 m.p.h. in a short chase that started on the southbound San Diego Freeway around 11 p.m., said Irvine Police Sgt. Phil Povey. The driver had allegedly stolen a 1987 Hyundai Excel from Costa Mesa before the chase began, Povey said.
The man left the freeway at Culver Drive, then turned west onto Campus Drive.
With two police cars in pursuit, the suspect attempted to pass two cars in front of him, but ran into an asphalt roller in a lane that had been closed for construction near the UC Irvine campus, Povey said.
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