CLAREMONT (CNS) - One person was killed and four others were injured, one of them critically, in a multiple-vehicle crash involving a wrong-way driver being chased by officers on the Foothill (210) Freeway today in Claremont.
The suspect allegedly stole a vehicle with a 2-year-child inside in San Bernardino, but dropped the toddler off before the crash occurred, police said.
The crash was reported about 3:44 p.m. on the eastbound side of the freeway near Mills Avenue, according to the California Highway Patrol.
One person died at the scene, one was critically injured and three other people sustained minor injuries, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
A rescue helicopter landed in eastbound lanes, but did not airlift anyone from the scene because it was quicker to use an ambulance to take the critically injured patient to a nearby trauma center, a dispatcher said.
All eastbound lanes were closed and were expected to remain shut for hours after the crash.
The vehicle was stolen about 3:25 p.m. outside a convenience store in the 700 block of West Highland Avenue in San Bernardino, according to Eileen Hards of the San Bernardino Police Department.
An alert was issued for law enforcement to be on the lookout for the suspect, who dropped the child off before being spotted by CHP officers, Hards said.
With CHP and San Bernardino police units in pursuit, the suspect drove west on the eastbound side of the freeway and struck three vehicles before hitting another vehicle head-on and killing an occupant, according to Hards.
The suspect was among four patients taken to a hospital. Her name, age and condition were not immediately available, Hards said.
The CHP was investigating the crash and San Bernardino police were investigating the grand theft auto case, she said.