Youth Killed as Van Chased by Deputies Crashes

A 14-year-old boy in a stolen van being chased by sheriff’s deputies was killed Saturday when the van’s driver lost control and crashed, officials said.

The Toyota van, carrying four young males, went over a center median on Knott Avenue at Thelma Street just after midnight and hit a pole. The 14-year-old, identified as Julio Gallegos of Los Angeles, was dead when deputies arrived.

A 15-year-old from Garden Grove was ejected from the van and seriously injured. A 12-year-old from Los Angeles was found trapped inside with serious injuries.

The 17-year-old driver, who is from Garden Grove, suffered minor injuries and was arrested on suspicion of evading arrest and possession of a stolen vehicle. He is being held at Orange County Juvenile Hall, Sheriff’s Lt. William Francis said.

“There will probably be some follow-up charges filed because someone was killed while committing a crime,” Francis said.

The van was reported stolen in Seal Beach at 11:58 p.m. Friday. A short time later, a sheriff’s deputy spotted it at Western and Katella avenues in Stanton. The driver refused to pull over, and the deputy, joined by a second patrol car, gave chase, Francis said.

The seriously injured youths, whose names were not released, were taken to UCI Medical Center in Orange. Their injuries are not believed to be life-threatening, authorities said.

The Orange County Sheriff’s Department could not say how fast the youths were going or whether they were wearing seat belts.

The department was singled out for praise recently for its strict vehicle pursuit policy. The ACLU Foundation of Southern California said in a study that the department should be a model for other major law enforcement agencies in Southern California.

The foundation’s study of 12 law enforcement agencies found that the department logged only eight vehicle pursuits in 1995, compared with 816 chases by the Los Angeles Police Department.

The Orange County Sheriff’s Department prohibits deputies from chasing a vehicle for simply a traffic violation. At least one of eight conditions must exist before deputies begin a chase, including a reasonable cause to believe a felon is in the car or that the suspect would endanger society if allowed to flee.