Brief Police Chase in Newport Beach Ends in Deadly Crash
A Cerritos woman was killed early Saturday in Newport Beach when the driver of the car in which she was riding allegedly led police on a brief chase before colliding with another car and slamming into a garage.
Helen Chu, 26, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Another passenger, Kevin Alsing, 24, was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries.
Jesse Lee Thompson, 21, of Poway, who police said was driving under the influence of alcohol, was taken to Western Medical Center-Santa Ana where he was treated for moderate injuries and arrested on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter, said Newport Beach Police Lt. Tom Gazsi.
The pursuit began about 3:20 a.m. at the Coronado apartments on 16th Street when Thompson sped through several stop signs, Gazsi said.
Thompson tried to turn near Irvine Avenue, but collided with another car and rammed into a garage in the 2200 block of Cliff Drive, police said.
There were no other injuries.
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