Suspected gunman, 17, killed when stolen van crashes into LAFD truck

The investigation continued early Thursday into a police pursuit of two suspected gunmen in a stolen van that led to a violent collision between the van and a fire truck.

The crash killed one of the people in the van – whom the coroner would only identify as a 17-year-old male pending notificiation of next of kin – and left the second suspected gunman in critical condition.

Two firefighters suffered minor injuries in the crash, and the truck remained at the scene Thursday morning.

Los Angeles police say the string of events began about 9:15 p.m. with a 911 call. Someone reported gunshots in the 500 block of West Colden Avenue in the Vermont Vista neighborhood of South Los Angeles, said Officer Jack Richter.

En route to the scene, police spotted a black van they believed contained the two shooters and gave chase.

Only two minutes into the pursuit, the van careened into a Los Angeles Fire Department truck near 84^th and Main streets in Florence where firefighters and paramedics were tending to a medical emergency call, officials said. Crews pulled the two suspected gunmen from the van as flames began to engulf it.

The teenager was pronounced dead at the scene. Officer Liliana Preciado said she had no information on if the surviving allleged gunman would be arrested.

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