Woman, 24, Dies In Crash Following High Speed Chase In Torrance
TORRANCE (CBS) — A 24-year-old woman fleeing from officers crashed a stolen station wagon into a tree Friday, killing herself, police said.
Two officers on patrol in a squad car saw a 2005 red Volvo station wagon parked in the area of Pacific Coast Highway and Anza Avenue around 2:15 a.m., ran the plates and determined the car had been stolen, said Torrance police Sgt. Keith Fournier. Then, the vehicle took off, triggering a high-speed chase
down PCH, he said.
The woman ran red lights, and the officers dropped back, Fournier said. But nonetheless she soon lost control, crossed into the northbound lanes and slammed into a tree at PCH and Airport Drive, he said.
Vanessa Gomez, 24, died at the scene, said coroner's Assistant Chief Ed Winter. No one else was hurt.
(©2011 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)
