CHP Chase Ends In Crash, Killing Young Couple

INGLEWOOD, CA — A young couple died Wednesday night when a pickup driver being chased by police plowed into their car near the San Diego (405) Freeway. Officers had been chasing the driver, who they suspected of being intoxicated after he ran a red light, the California Highway Patrol reported.

The chase began on Century Boulevard, wound along the 405 Freeway and ended with the fatal crash in Inglewood. The woman died at the scene, and her boyfriend died at a nearby hospital shortly after, according to the CHP. The unidentified pickup truck driver tried to flee the scene on foot, but was quickly captured, said California Highway Patrol Officer Franco Pepi.

Officers first saw a blue Dodge pickup truck speeding and running a red light on Century Boulevard near the San Diego (405) Freeway at 10:35 p.m. Wednesday, then the driver got on the northbound San Diego Freeway and officers tried to pull the truck over, but the driver fled, according to Pepi.

The suspect exited the freeway at Manchester Avenue and led officers on a pursuit on Inglewood streets, eventually turning north on Glasgow Avenue and crashing into a sedan traveling eastbound on Olive Street, Pepi told NBC4.

The two victims were trapped in the wreckage and had to be freed by Los Angeles County firefighters.

The coroner's office withheld the names of the victims, described only as being in their 20s, pending notification of their relatives. KTLA5 reported that the woman was a 22-year-old phlebotomist -- a technician who takes blood samples -- who was out with her 27-year-old boyfriend.

Investigators were looking into the possibility the pickup truck driver, whose name was not immediately released, was under the influence of a drug or narcotic at the time of the crash, Pepi said.

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.