Dennis RomeroTwo people were killed on Christmas night when a minivan was hit by an SUV being chased by police in Pasadena, according to reports.
One report indicated the fatalities included a boy and his mother.
The crash happened at Marengo Avenue and Maple Street about 8:15 p.m., according to City News Service:
The SUV had been stopped by police but the driver sped off, leading to a short pursuit before the crash, police told CNS.
Pasadena police Chief Phillip Sanchez told Fox 11 News that the victims included …
… an innocent family going about their business on a special day, special time of the year.
He called the collision “truly tragic.”
The vehicle that was temporarily stopped by cops had tried to exit a containment area set up after a homicide in the area and might or might have been connected, according to police and reports.
That 11 a.m. shooting happened in the 1900 block of Newport Avenue; one person was killed and another was wounded, police said.
Four people were reported to be in the van when it was hit by the SUV.
[Update at 12:55 p.m.]: Authorities today identified the fatal victim of the shooting as 49-year-old Victor McClinton, a longtime L.A. County Sheriff's Department employee who was also a coach and director of the Brotherhood Community Youth Sports League.
Credit: Victor McClinton / Facebook
According to KNX 1070 Newsradio, he and a fellow coach were talking in or near the street yesterday morning when they heard a possible vehicle collision and shots rang out, striking McClinton and ultimately killing him. He appears to have been an innocent bystander and an unintended target.
Meanwhile, L.A. County Coroner's Asstistant Chief Ed Winter tells the Weekly the fatalities in the evening crash included a 26-year-old woman and an 11-year-old boy. He said he could not release their IDs because family members had not yet been notified of their deaths.
Reports indicate that the woman and boy are cousins and not mother and son, although Winter could not confirm that for us.
A Pasadena police press release sent to the Weekly and other outlets says there were five people in the minivan that carried the two; the other three victims were hospitalized. It says:
Officers attempted to initiate a traffic stop, however, the suspect driver failed to yield, accelerating away from the officers at a high rate of speed.
A short time later, the suspect vehicle collided with a minivan at the intersection of
Marengo Ave and Maple Street.
Suspects in the SUV, who were hospitalized with “moderate injuries” and arrested on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter, were ID'd by cops via that statement:
Jada Mays, 18, Pasadena Resident
Brittany Washington 21, Los Angeles resident
Darryl Williams 22, Pasadena Resident
Demarius Hanna 22, Pasadena Resident
It's still unclear if police believe any of the above are related to the morning homicide.
[Update at 3:36 p.m.]: Pasadena PD this afternoon issued more info about the morning shooting. Cops indicate that the intended target was a 24-year-old suspected gang member, Damion Taylor, who was indeed also shot but survived. According to the department's latest statement, following the 11 a.m. call of shots fired …
… police officers discovered that a vehicle had collided into a light-pole. The driver, later identified as Damion Taylor, male Black-24 of Pasadena, sustained a gunshot wound. Officers located a second gunshot victim lying on the sidewalk, north of the collision site. The second victim (a pedestrian) was identified as Victor J. McClinton …
Authorities reiterated that there was no relationship between McClinton and the other shooting victim.
[Update at 4:30 p.m.]: City News Service this afternoon reports that an FBI agent and a Pasadena police officer were in the car chasing the SUV:
The federal agent and police officer were doing anti-gang work, and a loaded gun was thrown from the SUV during the brief chase and later recovered, police said.
The woman killed in the subsequent collision was identified as 26-year-old Tracey Ong Tan of Glendale. The boy was an 11-year-old from Daly City, California, according to CNS.
There's still no word on whether the suspects in the SUV might be linked to the morning shooting in the area.
[With reporting from City News Service / @dennisjromero / djromero@laweekly.com / @LAWeeklyNews]
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