Police Pursuit Ends in Crash, One Killed and Another Injured

A man was killed and another injured in a vehicle crash at the end of the second of two pursuits of a suspect, police said today.

The unidentified victim was a passenger in a 2005 Ford F-150 pickup truck that left the transition road from the northbound San Diego (405) Freeway to the southbound Long Beach (710) Freeway, struck a power pole and caught fire around 11:40 p.m. Monday, said Westminster police Sgt. Mike Chapman.

The driver, 40 year-old Javier Montoya, suffered minor injuries and faces charges of murder, assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer, and felony evasion. Montoya also had outstanding warrants for narcotics violations and resisting arrest, Chapman said.

Chapman said the initial pursuit began in the 6700 block of Westminster Boulevard around 7:15 p.m. Monday when police responded to a report of someone threatening a person with a simulated weapon.

The suspect fled in the pickup, braking suddenly and causing a police squad car to rear-end his vehicle, then side-swiped a second pursuing vehicle on the northbound 405, Westminster Corporal Eddie Esqueda said.

One police vehicle sustained minor damage, and no officers were hurt, Chapman said, adding that officers lost the vehicle they were pursuing in the Long Beach area.

The vehicle was spotted in the area of the original offence by a Westminster detective around 11:10 p.m., Chapman said.

A second pursuit was launched, lasting 30 minutes and involving Anaheim police officers and Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies, Esqueda said.

Montoya was pursued at high speeds on surface streets and again on the 405, where it struck a light post and then a tree before bursting into flames. The passenger died at the scene, Esqueda said.

—City News Service

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