San Diego Police Officer Killed, Another Injured in Fiery Crash

By Teri Figueroa

Source The San Diego Union-Tribune

A San Diego police officer was killed and a second was injured when a pursuit in Clairemont ended in a fiery crash late Monday, officials said.

The driver of the car they were chasing also died, San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl told reporters at an early morning news conference.

Police did not release the names of either Tuesday morning.

“I can’t put into words the feelings that come at a time like this,” Wahl said. “When we have police officers coming to work, to make a difference, to help those in need, and they put their lives on the line for people they don’t even know. Last night, we lost a good one.”

The crash happened just after 11:30 p.m. on Clairemont Mesa Boulevard west of state Route 163.

Wahl said officers spotted a vehicle traveling at “a high rate of speed” on Clairemont Mesa Boulevard and tried to pull it over. The driver kept going, and the officers gave chase, but the high speeds led a supervisor to call off the pursuit, the chief said.

Two officers were driving together in the same car, responding to the chase, when the fleeing car slammed into their patrol vehicle, he said.

One of the officers died at the scene, as did the suspect. The other officer was taken to a hospital and was in the intensive care unit.

Two other vehicles were involved in the crash, but their occupants were not injured.

Wahl said he’s asked the California Highway Patrol to conduct an independent investigation of the crash and do “a full reconstruction of exactly what happened.”

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