La Habra pursuit crash: California DOJ joins investigation
A man was killed in a police shooting following a police pursuit and fiery crash in La Habra early Friday morning. Another driver was hospitalized with injuries from the crash.
A Ford Explorer with Nevada plates struck a BMW coupe at the intersection of Imperial Highway and Beach Blvd. at about 1:16 a.m. Friday. The Explorer was engulfed in flames. Police shot the driver.
Officials said Fullerton police officers located an Explorer wanted in connection to an armed robbery just after 1 a.m. Officers attempted to stop the vehicle, but it fled and police gave chase.
The pursuit ended at the intersection of Imperial and Beach when the Explorer ran into the BMW. Police said a suspect got out of the Explorer, and a Fullerton officer opened fire, killing the suspect. La Habra police said a knife was recovered at the scene.
"I heard there was a crash outside and I went to go look and see what's going on outside, and all I can remember is hearing gunshots, and I immediately ducked to the ground," said Tyler Zeagler, an employee at the nearby gas station.
Los Angeles County firefighters responded to the scene and extinguished the Explorer fire.
No officers were injured. The BMW driver Michael Sambrano was hospitalized in unknown condition but was expected to survive, officials said.
His family said he was coming home from his girlfriend's house when the violent crash happened. He only remembers the SUV speeding up behind him. His mother added that Sambrano suffered a broken arm and had glass in his eyes as well as his face.
The hospital released him on Friday night and thanked everyone for their prayers.
Last Friday, February 3, at about 12:30 p.m., a suspect robbed a cashier at gunpoint at a Jamba Juice in Highland, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Dept. Fullerton police matched the license plate number in Friday morning's pursuit to the vehicle involved in the Highland robbery. Investigators were working to determine if it was the same suspect in both incidents.
The intersection was closed Friday during the investigation. The gas station on the southeast corner was cordoned off by police tape.
La Habra and Fullerton police officers were on the scene. The La Habra Police Department took over the pursuit investigation. The California Department of Justice joined the investigation under an Assembly Bill that requires state prosecutors to investigate police shootings that involved an unarmed civilian.