LOS ANGELES—Authorities are piecing together clues March 25 after a high-speed freeway chase ended with a crash on Melrose Avenue, where officers arrested a fleeing suspect and discovered the motorist shot dead and a handgun on his lap.
Officers on a routine patrol driving northbound on the Hollywood (101) Freeway, just south of Cesar Chavez Avenue, spotted a black Infiniti speed pass them at about 3:30 a.m. Saturday, triggering a pursuit, the California Highway Patrol reported.
The suspect’s vehicle continued speeding northbound and exited on Melrose Avenue.
“The pursuit traversed several city streets and our officers briefly lost sight of the Infiniti,” the highway patrol said. “At approximately 3:32 a.m., they discovered the Infiniti had collided with several parked vehicles on Melrose Avenue, west of Commonwealth Avenue.”
A passenger from the car was seen fleeing the location on foot as officers were approaching the crash. He was later apprehended. The officers then came upon the motorist, who was suffering from a gunshot wound to the head and had a gun on his lap, officials said.
A representative from the Los Angeles County coroner’s office was called to the location at 7:49 a.m.
The suspect was identified as Angel Anthony Aguiniga, 20, of Lynwood, who was arrested on suspicion of resisting arrest.
