Woman Killed After Chase ID’d as Santa Ana Resident

A Fountain Valley police officer shot and killed a woman after a car chase Friday night, officials said.

The Fountain Valley police identified the woman on Saturday as Dorothy Lee Lugo, 41, whose driver’s license bore a Santa Ana address.

The Orange County district attorney’s office is investigating. Officials there could not be reached for comment.

In a news release on the Police Department’s website Saturday, Sgt. Kevin Thomas said officers were involved in an investigation near Harbor Boulevard and Edinger Avenue just before 7 p.m. Friday when they tried to stop the woman, who was driving a car.

“During the attempt to stop the vehicle, there was a felony assault on Fountain Valley officers,” Thomas said without elaboration.

Officers pursued the Volkswagen Beetle through the streets of Fountain Valley and Santa Ana at speeds of more than 70 mph, according to Santa Ana police and California Highway Patrol officials who participated.

The fleeing woman drove on the wrong side of the road at times, then struck another car at Harbor Boulevard and Warner Avenue.

Shortly after the crash, Thomas said, a Fountain Valley officer fired “multiple rounds” from a service weapon, hitting the woman.

Lugo was taken to a hospital, where she died.

Police declined to say whether a weapon was recovered at the scene and whether there were others in Lugo’s vehicle. They did not specify why she was being pulled over or how she assaulted officers.