Driver dies from police gunfire at end of chase in Santa Ana

A man suspected of stealing a car died in a hail of gunfire Tuesday after leading police on a 20-minute chase that ended with him careening off a freeway embankment in Santa Ana.

Authorities did not release his name, nor that of a female passenger arrested as a possible accomplice.

“Detectives are still trying to sort out this very complicated situation,” Santa Ana Police Capt. Jose Gonzales said late Tuesday.

The chase began about 3:20 p.m., he said, when authorities received a report of a silver Chevy Suburban believed stolen on the 600 block of North Terminal Street. Officers dispatched to the area spotted the car near 4th and Main, where the chase began.

A short time later, Gonzales said, it collided with another vehicle, then sped away as officers began firing. After entering the southbound 55 Freeway, he said, the Suburban ran off the embankment and came to rest near the southbound MacArthur onramp.

“Officers at the scene engaged the suspect, shots were fired, and he was fatally wounded,” Gonzales said, adding that the suspected car thief was declared dead at the scene.

The female passenger, he said, was arrested unharmed.

Gonzales said he could not say why police fired, or provide any further details. “The matter is under investigation,” he said.

Witnesses said they saw between eight and 15 officers fire as many as 20 shots, mostly through the car’s rear window.

“One or two of the officers were screaming commands,” said Steve Murray, 41, who had just pulled into a parking garage with a view of the spot.

“Maybe a minute went by, then they fired.”

After blowing out the car’s rear window, he said, the officers approached the passenger side, broke open the window and pulled the passenger to the ground.

Then they converged on the driver’s side with guns drawn, opened the door and pulled out the driver.

“He fell right to the ground,” Murray said. “It wasn’t long after that they covered him up with a tarp.”

Hours later, the witness was still shaken.

“It was surreal,” Murray said. “You can watch live events on television, but when you see it happening firsthand it doesn’t seem real. It’s kind of a profound moment; you witness someone alive, then you witness him dead.”

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david.haldane@latimes.com

tony.barbosa@latimes.com