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LONG BEACH (CNS) - Authorities Wednesday identified a woman who was killed in a multi-vehicle collision during a police pursuit in Long Beach.
The pursuit began when a Seal Beach Police Department officer stopped a couple in a silver 2006 Lexus sedan at 8 p.m. Tuesday for a traffic violation near Marina Drive and Pacific Coast Highway. While the officer was conducting a records check of the female driver, the man moved into the driver's seat and sped away and the pursuit began, Seal Beach Police Department Lt. Julia Clasby told reporters.
During the pursuit, the man drove on the wrong side of the street beginning in the area of North Studebaker Road, Clasby said.
The suspects crashed into at least eight other vehicles at 8:05 p.m. Tuesday at the intersection of Pacific Coast Highway and Second Street, where the man, identified as Chaz Lamar Long, 39, of Antioch, ran from the vehicle. But an officer used a Taser to subdue him.
Long was arrested at the scene, and Clasby said police later discovered he had an outstanding federal no-bail warrant for weapons violations.
The woman was injured in the crash and taken to a hospital. Her name was not released. An infant in the vehicle with the suspects was taken to a hospital for observation.
Sara Shorteno, 74, of Toronto, died at the scene, according to the Los Angeles County coroner's office. She was a passenger in one of the vehicles involved in the collision with the suspects' car, Clasby said.
Anyone who may have witnessed the incident was asked to contact Long Beach Police Department Det. Joseph Johnson at 562-570-7355.