Man dies in fatal crash during police chase in Santa Cruz
SANTA CRUZ -- A 48-year-old Santa Cruz County man died after crashing his vehicle during a pursuit with law enforcement on Friday night.
A State Parks officer attempted to conduct a traffic stop at Natural Bridges State Beach at about 8:45 p.m. when the driver of the white, 1996 GMC Yukon fled.
The man was initially contacted by the officer for expired registration and for allegedly almost backing into a crowd of people, according to the California Highway Patrol.
After a roughly four-minute-long pursuit, the driver went off the road for unknown reasons on West Cliff Drive, east of De La Costa Avenue, where he crashed into rocks. The driver, whose name was not released, was pronounced dead at the scene.
CHP is investigating the wreck to try to determine the cause, including whether drugs or alcohol played a factor.