Teen Saw Fatal Chase

Witnesses to a fatal police shooting in Buena Park described Saturday a high-speed chase through narrow alleys that ended with one man dead and another wounded.

Details surrounding the Thursday night shooting remained sketchy as the Orange County district attorney’s office continued its investigation. Buena Park police confirmed the identity of the dead man as Juan Alberto Herrera of Buena Park.

On Saturday, the scene was marked by a memorial of bouquets, candles and an open bottle of beer.

Jose Ramos, 15, said he was walking down Jackson Way near Grand Avenue about 11 p.m. Thursday and saw a police car slowly following Herrera, who was driving a large blue sedan. When the officers turned the patrol car’s spotlight onto the sedan, Jose said, the vehicle accelerated.

Herrera quickly reached the intersection with Western Avenue and turned around and sped into an alley that runs through an apartment complex. Jose, who ran to the alley, estimated that Herrera reached speeds up to 70 mph.

When Herrera reached Grand Avenue, Jose said, the patrol car struck the back of the sedan, causing it to crash into the median.

The officer and his partner positioned themselves on both sides of the sedan with their guns drawn, Jose said.

“It happened so fast,” Jose said, adding that he remembered hearing four shots fired and saw Herrera slumped over the wheel of the car, bleeding from the neck and head.

Another person said he partly heard, but did not see, what transpired. “I heard one cop yell, ‘Show me your hands!’ twice, and then seconds later I heard three or four gunshots,” said Robert Truelove, who was working in his garage nearby.

The passenger, Marcos Osario, 36, known as Luciano Ramos, was shot and was hospitalized in stable condition. Police arrested Osario at the hospital on outstanding warrants for suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and parole violations.

Sgt. James Banks, spokesman for Buena Park police, declined Saturday to provide further details on the shooting or say whether the men were armed.

As is customary in an officer-involved shooting, the Orange County district attorney’s office is investigating.

Calls to the district attorney’s office were not returned.