Woman Killed as Driver Flees Police

A burglary suspect being chased by police crashed a van into an apartment, stole a truck from a neighboring family and then struck and killed an elderly motorist before being arrested, police said Friday.

The pursuit through the heart of the San Fernando Valley began in Northridge at 12:20 p.m. and ended an hour later in Encino. Police said the suspect hit speeds of up to 80 mph as they trailed him by car and helicopter.

Trying to minimize the danger, police said they followed the suspect at a distance--relying on a helicopter to direct them in his wake.

Police said they first spotted the suspect, Frank McIntyre, 20, as he sped down White Oak Avenue in Northridge and refused to pull over for a patrol car.

With helicopters and patrol cars tracking him, McIntyre drove to Panorama City--where police say he lost control and crashed his white van into a ground-floor apartment on Nordhoff Street.

“My wife and 3-year-old daughter were playing in the living room,” said a shaken Jesus Martinez, whose apartment in the Casa Bonita complex was damaged. “It all happened in a matter of seconds.”

Police said McIntyre pulled himself from the debris, entered an adjacent apartment and forced a resident there to hand over the keys to a Chevrolet Suburban.

McIntyre then drove south to Encino, said Los Angeles Police Department spokesman Jason Lee.

Lee could not say whether officers adhered to LAPD policy regarding pursuits. However, he did say that police were not following the suspect at high speed, but were instead “responding to a general location where the suspect’s vehicle was traveling to by monitoring the transmission of the airship.”

Lee said the woman was struck and killed as she was turning her car left on White Oak Avenue near Miranda Street. At the time, officers were about seven or eight blocks away, he said.

Police later identifed the motorist as Charlotte Lenga, 77. Her residence was not immediately available.

Officers arrived at the scene about a minute later, Lee said, and arrested McIntyre in a nearby backyard as he tried to run away. He was arrested on suspicion of murder and was in custody at a local hospital, where he was being treated for minor injuries.