Upset Man Leads Police on a Chase, Then Kills Himself

A 30-year-old Riverside man, upset about a recent divorce, fled from officers trying to stop him for speeding Monday and then led authorities on a nearly three-hour chase through three counties before he committed suicide, police said.

Charles Timothy Parker’s Toyota truck finally ran out of gas about 1:30 a.m. on the Riverside Freeway near State College Boulevard and came to rest facing the wrong way in the fast lane, said Officer Angel Johnson of the California Highway Patrol. Parker was pointing a handgun at his head when police approached his truck, and he threw his wallet and a suicide note from the truck, Johnson said.

For three hours, officers tried to dissuade him from suicide, but Parker pulled the trigger and killed himself at 4:30 a.m., Johnson said.

“He was talking and conversing with the officers,” Johnson said. “He was upset over his divorce and said he had a lot of personal problems.” The chase had begun on the Riverside Freeway in Riverside County at about 10:40 p.m. Sunday when a CHP officer tried to stop Parker for speeding, Johnson said.

“He just kept going,” Johnson said. He drove to Orange County, briefly through Los Angeles County and back to Orange County. Parker pulled off the freeway briefly and drove around Costa Mesa before getting back on the freeway, Johnson said.

When Parker finally stopped, officers could not get near his truck because he kept threatening to shoot himself, Johnson said. They spoke to him through microphones.

Police had closed the Riverside Freeway from State College Boulevard to Kramer Boulevard in both directions for more than two hours starting at 1:30 a.m.