Innocent driver in his 60s killed after police chase ends in violent crash in Placentia; suspect identified

PLACENTIA, Calif. () — An innocent driver in his 60s was killed Wednesday night when a police chase ended in a violent multi-car crash in a Placentia neighborhood.

The Anaheim and Placentia police departments shared new details about the incident on Thursday, detailing what led to the chase.

Anaheim police said it all started around 7:40 p.m. when officers were patrolling the area near Mira Loma and Lawrence Avenues. That’s when they noticed the driver of a dark-colored Jeep Gladiator driving recklessly, police said.

“The driver nearly spun out of control, almost struck a parked unoccupied vehicle, and in addition, almost struck the officers who were inside the vehicle,” said Sgt. Eric Anderson with Anaheim PD, who spoke with the media on Thursday.

Police said officers initiated a traffic stop, but as they approached, the driver accelerated and took off. Police pursued with lights and sirens activated.

“Our officers conduct various types of training for pursuits,” said Anderson. “They know when to discontinue or when it seems dangerous at the time. This time of evening at this hour, there is very minimal traffic on these surface streets, and based on the speeds that were noted at 65 mph with the light traffic, the pursuit continued.”

Less than three minutes later, officers saw the suspect crash into the innocent driver, who was in a Honda sedan, near Bradford Avenue and Madison Avenue in the city of Placentia.

“We heard a loud bang,” said nearby resident Anthony Trejo. He said he and his wife ran to the scene and found a gray car with an unresponsive driver inside. “It was a pretty horrific sight,” Trejo said.

The victim, a Placentia man in his 60s, died at the scene. The suspect, who was identified as 21-year-old Darvin Felipe Bahamon Martinez, was arrested at the scene for felony evading and vehicular manslaughter.

“It’s really heartbreaking, you know, really sad,” Trejo added. “Guy was almost home, you know, just getting off of work, working hard, coming off probably late hours, and just for him to just pass away like that.”

The impact of the crash also caused one of the vehicles to crash into a Dodge van that was traveling in the eastbound lane of Madison Avenue, according to police. That person was sent to a local hospital with minor injuries.

The California Highway Patrol Major Accident Investigation Team responded to the scene and is conducting the crash investigation. Meantime, detectives with the Placentia Police Department are conducting the criminal investigation.

Anaheim PD is also conducting an internal investigation.