Authorities Saturday were investigating a wild, high-speed chase that ended with a crash that killed the driver of the vehicle being pursued.
Deputies intercepted a Nissan Sentra that had evaded Menifee police officers during a pursuit at around 11:55 a.m. Friday near Perris Boulevard and San Michelle Road, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.
The Nissan was traveling northbound on the wrong side of Perris Boulevard at a high speed when it sideswiped another vehicle near John F. Kennedy Avenue while recklessly swerving in and out of traffic and passing in between vehicles, sheriff’s officials said.
Despite running over a spike strip laid down by a deputy, the Nissan continued speeding north and eventually entered the Cactus Avenue intersection against a red light.
That’s when the Nissan crashed into the passenger side of a gray Toyota Tundra that was headed eastbound, causing both vehicles to careen into a cinder block wall at the intersection’s northeast corner, sheriff’s officials said.
The suspect driver — whose identity was not released and was the only person in the Nissan — suffered major injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene.
The driver and a passenger in the Tundra were taken to a hospital for unspecified injuries.
The California Highway Patrol’s Multidisciplinary Accident Investigation Team responded to the scene and was investigating the crash.