California police officer killed, another injured in fiery crash following brief pursuit

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

The driver of the car police had been 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. The chief said the department was still in the process of notifying members of the officer’s family.

“I can’t put into words the feelings that come at a time like this,” said Wahl, standing with Mayor Todd Gloria and others. “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 briefly gave chase, but the high speeds led a supervisor to call off the pursuit, the chief said.

Two other officers were driving together in the same car, responding to the incident, when the fleeing car slammed into the side of 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. The chief said the officer was critically injured and “fighting for his life.”

Wahl said two other vehicles were also involved in the crash. “It appears those drivers are OK, with no significant injuries,” he said.

Wahl said that “due to the enormity of this situation and all the emotion that’s behind it,” he’s asked the California Highway Patrol to conduct an independent investigation of the crash and do “a full reconstruction of exactly what happened.”

Early Tuesday, a procession of police cars accompanied the body of the police officer as it was taken to the county Medical Examiner’s Office in Kearny Mesa, footage from Fox 5 showed.

“Keep this officer’s family in your prayers and look out for one another right now,” Wahl said in a message to his fellow police officers. “We just finished giving lineup to the day watch officers. They have to go to work, there’s a job that has to be done. This is going to weigh heavy on their hearts, but we have a job to do.”

Staff writer Karen Kucher contributed to this report.