LOS ANGELES : Man Dies, Several Held in 3 Car Chases

One man was killed and law enforcement authorities detained several other suspects Tuesday in three Los Angeles-area car chases.

Authorities said Tuesday that Xian Ca Cun, 20, of Los Angeles, died at about 1:30 a.m. Tuesday when the BMW he was driving struck a telephone pole and then plowed into the back yard of a Mt. Washington house near Ernest E. Debs Regional Park. The chase approached speeds of 110 m.p.h., Police Lt. Mike Nichol said.

In Beverly Hills about an hour later, a late 1970s model Chevrolet Camaro trying to elude police struck a tow truck at the intersection of Wilshire and La Cienega boulevards. The driver, Richard Wladich, 27, of North Hollywood, and an unidentified male passenger, were both critically burned in the crash. They were hospitalized at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

Earlier, three Long Beach youngsters in a stolen 1982 Nissan led police on a short chase before losing control of their car and crashing into a curb, CHP Officer Lee Martin said.