One individual was killed and a second person was critically injured after a vehicle being chased by deputies crashed in the City of Industry on Wednesday afternoon, authorities said.
Undercover detectives a part of a regional task force were conducting an investigation in Los Angeles County when a vehicle watched by authorities sped off, said Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Eric Ortiz, a spokesperson for the department.
During the pursuit, detectives called deputies from the Pico Rivera Sheriff’s station for help, Ortiz said. The vehicle eventually crashed along Workman Mill Road near the 60 Freeway underpass in Industry.
The passenger of the car being pursued died at the scene, authorities said.
County fire paramedics transported the driver of the chased vehicle to a local hospital in critical condition around 2:30 p.m., said County fire Supervising Dispatcher Martin Rangel. A third patient declined medical treatment at the scene.
Authorities did not immediately identity the person who died and the others in the car being pursued.
News broadcasts showed the wreckage involving multiple vehicles near the underpass, including a semi-truck.
The detectives who initiated the pursuit were a part of Los Angeles Inter-agency Metropolitan Police Apprehension Crime Team, also known as LA IMPACT, a regional task force comprised of multiple local agencies like the LAPD, Sheriff’s Department, and other smaller agencies within the county, and primarily investigates drug trafficking organizations.
The Sheriff’s Department could not immediately provide details about the original investigation that led to the pursuit.