Two men, allegedly involved in a fatal shooting in Central California, died in a car crash following a high-speed pursuit by law enforcement officers.
The chain of events, spanning from Manteca to San Leandro, began on Sunday evening and culminated early Monday morning.
The investigation, being conducted jointly by the police departments of Manteca and San Leandro and the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office, began with a distressing scene on the 1300 block of West Yosemite Avenue. A woman with a gunshot wound staggered into a nearby business around 10 p.m. on Sunday, later succumbing to her injuries despite immediate medical attention.
Investigators believe that the shooting took place "in front of a nearby business," and the suspected perpetrators fled the scene in a gray Toyota Camry. An alert was sent out to surrounding law enforcement agencies to be on the lookout for the suspect vehicle.
The vehicle was spotted early Monday morning heading northbound on Interstate 880 in Alameda County. San Leandro Police attempted to pull the car over in a "high-risk traffic stop," but the driver failed to stop, instead exiting the highway and continuing west on Davis Street.
According to officials, as the police tried to slow the car down with a tire deflation device, the driver attempted to bypass the device, leading the vehicle to crash into a tree. The car began to smoke and soon caught fire. The two men in the front seats were found unresponsive and were later pronounced dead at the scene. A 14-year-old girl trapped in the backseat was able to be rescued by deputies and was transported to a nearby hospital.
Upon further inspection of the vehicle, a firearm was found inside. The identities of the individuals involved and the exact sequence of events are still under investigation.
