Canceled pursuit of reckless driver in L.A. County ends in deadly crash 

A chase that started in Commerce with a failed traffic stop ended in a fatal crash after the pursuit was canceled, according to authorities.  

A California Highway Patrol spokesperson confirmed to KTLA that officers attempted to make a traffic stop on Florence Avenue around 11:13 p.m. Saturday; however, the vehicle did not yield, and a pursuit was initiated. 

The suspect was driving through multiple red lights at a high rate of speed, the spokesperson added, which caused CHP to quickly cancel the pursuit. 

Shortly after the pursuit was canceled, the vehicle crashed near the intersection of Randolph Street and Eastern Avenue. Responding paramedics pronounced one of the vehicle’s occupants dead at the scene, and at least one other was transported to a hospital in unknown condition. 

Video from the scene obtained by KTLA shows debris strewn across the roadway in the immediate aftermath of the collision. The suspect vehicle, a white sedan, sustained severe damage.  

According to a man who witnessed the incident, that the high-speed crash may have involved at least one innocent bystander. 

“You can hear that someone was driving really fast,” said the witness, Arturo Esquivel. “They collided with another car and hit a couple of pedestrians – I thought a body had flown out of the car, but I guess they hit somebody walking by.” 

“I thought it was clothes that flew out of the car, but it was a body they hit,” he added. “[The body collided with] the bus station pole and I guess they passed away right there on the curb.”  

While the CHP spokesperson could not confirm whether a pedestrian was the decedent, they did state that three people in the suspect vehicle were detained. One of them foot bailed after being detained, the spokesperson added, elaborating that it was not immediately clear whether they had been taken back into custody. 

The investigation into the crash is being conducted by Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department officials.