1 dead, 2 hurt in crash after fleeing Santa Ana traffic stop, authorities say

SANTA ANA – One person was dead and another two injured following a crash after suspects fled when deputies were trying to pull them over Tuesday night, Sept. 11.

An Orange County sheriff’s unit was in the Tustin area and tried to stop an SUV after seeing a suspect run into the vehicle, said Santa Ana police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna.

“There’s a 7-Eleven, and (the deputy) sees a gun running from there and he’s got gloves on his hands and gets in a blacked-out car and speeds off,” Bertagna said. “So he thinks maybe a crime occurred.”

He followed the vehicle but it was speeding upward of 100 mph.

The deputy lost sight of the vehicle shortly after the sighting at 11 p.m., said Lt. Dan Dwyer of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.

“Later on, the vehicle was found by Tustin police, but it had crashed,” Dwyer said.

Bertagna said the SUV had possibly lost control when it apparently hit a dip at Chestnut Avenue and Lyon Street in Santa Ana.

“He spins and then goes sideways into opposing traffic … and hits the tree,” he said.

The impact killed the front passenger immediately.

Battalion Chief Colton Ashby of the Orange County Fire Authority said it took firefighters a long time to get the two survivors out of the vehicle; they were taken to a hospital in critical condition.

Inside the SUV, officers found new items including women’s purses and shoes. Officers returned to the area where the deputy had seen the suspect and saw that a boutique had been burglarized.

The suspects are all from Los Angeles.

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