Colleagues remembered a man killed by a vehicle being pursued by police in Santa Ana as a brilliant computer graphics engineer, lover of nature and true and loyal friend.
Andrew Scott Reisse (pictured below) died after being hit by a vehicle on Thursday as he was walking in a crosswalk at Flower Street at MacArthur Boulevard, authorities said. He was 33.
Reisse was a founding member of Oculus VR, a virtual reality company.
“Andrew’s contributions span far and wide in the video game industry,” the company said in a statement. “Words cannot express how sorely he will be missed or how deeply our sympathy runs for his family.
“Andrew will always be in our thoughts and will never be forgotten. We love you Reisse."
The man suspected of driving the vehicle that hit Reisse was identified as Victor Sanchez, 21, police said. He was hospitalized under guard and faces a possible murder charge, according to Santa Ana police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna.
He is suspected of being the driver of a Dodge Charger that collided with a truck around midday Thursday, then struck and killed Reisse.
The incident began before noon when Santa Ana Police Department officers saw two parked cars in the 1000 block of Rosewood Circle, with people in and around them engaging in “some sort of criminal activity,” Bertagna said.
When officers contacted the group, a fight broke out between at least one officer and one of the men, he said.
An officer opened fire, striking the man, while the others scattered.
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The man who was shot was identified as Gerardo Diego Ayala, 26, of Santa Ana. He died at a hospital, officials said.
Sanchez and two others got into a Dodge Charger and led police on a roughly 20-minute chase that included a collision with a car at Warner Avenue and Parton Street, police said.
The vehicle kept going until it crashed with a truck on Flower Street, became disabled and struck Reisse in a crosswalk at Flower and MacArthur, Bertagna said.
The other two suspects in the car were arrested, but their names were not released.
Bertagna said they were being held on suspicion of probation violations and outstanding warrants, and investigators were still determining what roles they each played Thursday.
