A driver who crashed after a pursuit through three Orange County communities died when he jumped from a freeway overpass.
The driver jumped from the overpass in Anaheim and landed about 50 feet down on the 5 Freeway. Northbound lanes were closed early Friday for the investigation.
The driver has not been identified.
The chase began around 11:30 p.m. Thursday in Fullerton. Officers there lost sight of the vehicle and called off the chase, according to Sgt. K. McGowan of the California Highway Patrol.
The driver was wanted for speeding.
An Anaheim police helicopter spotted the vehicle in Buena Park and followed it until it exited at Euclid Street in Anaheim and slammed into the left median wall of the off-ramp, McGowan said. Anaheim police, with assistance from the CHP, ordered the driver out of the vehicle, but the suspect refused to comply.
After a short time, the driver got out and, for unknown reasons, jumped over the median wall and landed in the northbound lanes of the freeway. The drop was estimated at 50 feet, McGowan said.
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The Euclid Street off-ramp from the southbound Santa Ana Freeway and the northbound lanes of the freeway at Euclid Street are closed until further notice.
