Category: California Highway Patrol

Off-Duty Officer Struck by Car on I-15 in Escondido While Directing Traffic

ESCONDIDO, Calif.—An Escondido police officer was struck and knocked onto the hood of a Ford Focus on the shoulder of Interstate 15 as he was directing traffic around a stalled vehicle April 23. The officer was off-duty on his way to work when the California Highway Patrol was notified of a hit-and-run at 10:27 a.m….


Man Gets 10 Years in Prison for Fatal DUI Crash That Killed His Passenger in Fallbrook

VISTA, Calif.—A man who drove under the influence of drugs, leading to a crash that killed his passenger in Fallbrook, has been sentenced to 10 years in state prison. Mark Aaron Sorden, 60, was sentenced April 17 following his guilty pleas to felony counts of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and DUI causing injury for…


Off-Duty LAPD Officer Killed in Crash on 210

GLENDORA, Calif.—Funeral services were pending Sunday for an off-duty Los Angeles police officer who died when his 2018 Honda rear-ended a big rig on the Foothill (210) Freeway in Glendora. The crash occurred about 2:30 a.m. Saturday on the eastbound freeway, west of Grand Avenue, the California Highway Patrol (CHP) reported. The officer was identified…


Infant Killed, Parents Injured in Suspected DUI Crash in Orange County

A suspected DUI driver allegedly rammed into a couple pushing their infant in a stroller, killing the baby, April 2 in Los Flores, an unincorporated neighborhood bordering Mission Viejo, California, police said. Daniel Lenihan, 54, of San Clemente, was driving a 2017 Hyundai Sonata on the east sidewalk of Antonio Parkway, south of Oaktree Lane…


Motorist Killed in Collision With School Bus Near Ramona ID’d

SAN DIEGO—Authorities March 29 publicly identified a 55-year-old man who was fatally injured last week when the pickup truck he was driving crashed head-on into a school bus on a Ramona-area roadway. Carey Rufenacht of Ramona lost control of the 2003 Chevrolet 2500 for unknown reasons while heading south on a curving stretch of Mussey…


Driver Found Shot Dead at End of High-Speed Chase in Los Angeles ID’d

LOS ANGELES—Authorities are piecing together clues after a motorist was found shot dead with a handgun on his lap March 25 at the end of a high-speed freeway chase and crash in East Hollywood. Roberto Iglesias III was a 20-year-old resident of South Gate, according to the coroner’s office. An autopsy was pending. Officers on…


Driver Killed When Vehicle Plunges Off Bridge Onto I-5 in Boyle Heights

LOS ANGELES—A motorist was killed March 26 morning when his vehicle went off a bridge in Boyle Heights and landed on its roof onto the Golden State (5) Freeway, authorities said. The vehicle landed on the southbound 5 Freeway at Whittier Boulevard at about 1:15 a.m. Sunday, the California Highway Patrol reported, adding that it…


Driver Found Shot Dead at End of High-Speed Chase in Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES—Authorities are piecing together clues March 25 after a high-speed freeway chase ended with a crash on Melrose Avenue, where officers arrested a fleeing suspect and discovered the motorist shot dead and a handgun on his lap. Officers on a routine patrol driving northbound on the Hollywood (101) Freeway, just south of Cesar Chavez…


Highway Patrol Seeks Help Catching Road Rage Shooter in Fountain Valley

FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif.—California Highway Patrol investigators Thursday asked for the public’s help identifying a suspect in a road-rage shooting on the San Diego (405) Freeway in Fountain Valley this week. Police were called at 4:55 p.m. Tuesday about the shooting in the northbound lanes at the Euclid Street exit, according to CHP Officer Mitch Smith….


Man Gets 15 Years to Life for DUI Crash That Killed Woman, Dog Near Costa Mesa

SANTA ANA, Calif.—A 33-year-old Riverside man pleaded guilty March 17 and was immediately sentenced to 15 years to life in prison for a deadly crash that killed a woman and her dog in an unincorporated area near Costa Mesa. Ali Zohair Fakhreddine pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, hit-and-run with permanent and serious injury, and driving…