MURRIETA (CNS) – A rollover crash involving an SUV on Interstate 15 in
Murrieta that killed a man and severely injured another person occurred at
the end of a 120 mph pursuit of a suspected drunken driver, California Highway
Patrol officials said today.
Trayvon Ford, 22, of Los Angeles, was fatally injured in the crash
about 4:40 a.m. Saturday on the southbound I-15 exit onto California Oaks Road,
the CHP said.
Officer Javier Navarro said a Jeep Compass was spotted by a patrol
unit shortly after 4 a.m. on the freeway, near Magnolia Avenue, in Corona with
no license plates.
The patrol officers signaled the driver, whose name was not disclosed,
to pull over, but Navarro said the man sped away.
“During the pursuit, the Jeep reached speeds up to 127 mph, exiting
and re-entering the freeway several times,” the CHP spokesman said. “The
driver exited southbound I-15 at California Oaks Road, where he failed to
negotiate the curve in the roadway and overturned.”
Ford was ejected onto the street, along with another passenger, whose
name was not released, according to Navarro.
He said the Jeep driver and another occupant of the SUV ran away as
CHP officers converged on the location.
Both men were apprehended within a few minutes without further incident.
Ford and the other party ejected onto California Oaks were taken to
Inland Valley Medical Center in Wildomar, where Ford died less than an hour
later. The other victim suffered major injuries, for which he was continuing to
receive treatment Wednesday.
Navarro said the driver of the SUV showed signs of inebriation, but
toxicology test results were still pending Wednesday.
The man’s custody status could not immediately be confirmed, nor the
status of the passenger who allegedly fled with him.
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