3 Youths Die as Crash Ends Chase of Stolen Car

Three youths, including a 13-year-old junior high school student from Mira Mesa, were killed early Tuesday when the stolen car they were in crashed into a telephone pole during a police chase that ended in National City.

San Diego police and the California Highway Patrol chased the youths more than 30 miles, starting shortly before midnight in Mira Mesa and ending in the 800 block of Highland Avenue about 12:30 a.m.

Linh Phong Pham, an eighth-grader at Challenger Junior High School, died on impact, said San Diego County Medical Examiner’s investigator Chuck Bolton. Two other car occupants who also died at the crash site were not immediately identified, Bolton said.

The chase began after a San Diego patrol officer noticed two cars cruising a neighborhood near Mira Mesa High School, Police Lt. Richard Bennett said.

Bennett said the area had recently been targeted by auto thieves and burglars, who would strike several cars and pickup trucks in a single night.

Because the cars appeared to make “random turns,” the patrol officer radioed for a check on the license plate of the car containing three young men, Bennett said.

The car, a 1988 Toyota Supra, is a popular model with car thieves, Bennett said; it had been reported stolen in Escondido on Monday.

The officer radioed for help and continued to follow the Toyota as the other car pulled off the road, Bennett said. Police did not follow that car.

After a few moments, the patrol officer signaled the driver to stop, but the Toyota sped away, Bennett said.

It entered Interstate 805, driving south until changing to California 52 and then heading west, Bennett said.

Along the way, the car would exit, then immediately return to the freeway in apparent attempts to elude police, Bennett said. The car ended up on Interstate 5 heading south, where the CHP took over the pursuit, in which speeds topped 90 m.p.h., CHP officer Phil Konstantin said.

The Toyota entered National City, Konstantin said, and swerved through traffic. After passing a bus, the car lost control and slid into a telephone pole.