Garden Grove Chase Ends With Swimming Pool Splash, 2 Die In Crash

GARDEN GROVE, CA — An overnight police pursuit through Garden Grove ended with two people dead and a yard all but destroyed from a high-speed collision. Both the pursuit suspect and an unsuspecting motorist were killed in the crash.

At about 2:15 a.m. Friday, Garden Grove police identified a Dodge Ram Pickup seen speeding through a mini-mall parking lot in the area of Chapman Avenue and Harbor Boulevard, police say. A pursuit followed, with lights and sirens, as officers sped after the truck, driving at high rates of speed through the neighborhood, according to Garden Grove Lt. Mario Martinez.

The truck was speeding as it struck another passenger vehicle at the intersection of Euclid Street and Orangewood Avenue, Martinez said.

As a result of the collision, the truck hit a block wall and came to rest upside down in a residential swimming pool. The second vehicle rolled over and came to rest against the wall, according to reports from the scene.

"The Orange County Fire Authority responded to render aid," Martinez said. "The driver of the truck was pronounced deceased at the scene. The driver of the passenger vehicle was transported to a local hospital, where he later was pronounced deceased."

OCFA used heavy equipment to remove the truck from the pool.

The names of the drivers were withheld, pending notification of their relatives. The crash was being investigated by the California Highway Patrol, Martinez said.