Motorist Fleeing Police Killed in Freeway Crash

The southbound Pasadena Freeway was closed until early Sunday morning after a spectacular crash that killed a motorist fleeing Los Angeles police.

A police cruiser responding to a family dispute arrived at an apartment building near the Avenue 52 entrance to the freeway around 9:30 p.m., Sgt. Jack Sommers said. As the cruiser pulled up, officers saw a pickup truck leaving the front of the building. When they called to the driver to halt, Sommers said, he rammed the cruiser, and sped onto the freeway.

Pursuing police “were not doing anything near the speed of this guy,” Sommers said, and when the pickup neared the Avenue 43 entrance, the speeding driver slid into the passenger seat and was seen rummaging below the seat, keeping only his left hand on the steering wheel.

The truck hit the side of the freeway and hurtled 70 feet through the air, slamming into a tree, Sommers said. The truck then ricocheted back onto the freeway, landing between two cars and turning over. The driver was ejected through the passenger door and was declared dead at the scene.

The man’s name was not released.