Innocent driver killed as pursuit ends with violent crash in Orange County
An innocent driver was killed when a high speed chase came to a violent end in La Palma on Wednesday afternoon.
The pursuit began a little before 12:40 p.m. in the city of Fullerton when a detective saw a man who had allegedly committed a theft at an Albertsons store near N. Gilbert Street and W. Malvern Avenue, according to the Fullerton Police Department.
The detective saw the man enter a white Nissan Rogue before leaving the area. When they attempted to pull the car over, the suspect fled, prompting officers to engage in pursuit.
While fleeing, the suspect collided with a car near Brookhurst Road and Orangethorpe Avenue but continued to drive, police said. At some point he got onto lanes of the 91 Freeway, briefly traveling westbound before exiting at Knott Avenue. It was there that Fullerton police say they lost sight of the vehicle.
Buena Park police that were also chasing the suspect lost sight at one point, but La Palma Police Department officers were able to locate the driver near La Palma Avenue and Walker Street, where they continued the pursuit.
"The suspect vehicle crashed into an uninvolved blue BMW in the area of La Palma Ave. and Moody St., disabling the suspect vehicle and ending the pursuit," police said.
The crash left the innocent BMW driver, a woman in her 60s, with fatal injuries. She was identified as 67-year-old La Palma resident Marianne Casey.
Officer arrested the suspect, identified as 43-year-old Anaheim man Anthony Hanzal, before he was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment on injuries he suffered in the crash. He will be booked on a litany of charges, police said. They include petty theft, hit-and-run and felony evading.
On Thursday, Hanzal was charged with gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, evading a peace officer causing death and petty theft with two prior convictions, all of which are felonies.
Hanzal has a prior strike conviction from King County, Washington for residential burglary in 2016, according to the criminal complaint filed. Additionally, court records show that in 2019 he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor counts of carrying a dirk or dagger, shoplifting, possession of a controlled substance and possession of a controlled substance without a prescription. In 2023, he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor counts of drug paraphernalia and petty theft.
Orange County Sheriff's Department investigators are also looking into the matter, police said.
