Driver fleeing CHP on the 15 Freeway in Murrieta crashes, passenger killed

A rollover crash involving an SUV on the 15 Freeway in Murrieta that killed a man and severely injured another person occurred at the end of a 120 mph pursuit of a suspected drunken driver, California Highway Patrol officials said Wednesday.

Trayvon Ford, 22, of Los Angeles, was fatally injured in the crash at about 4:40 a.m. Saturday on the southbound 15 exit onto California Oaks Road, the CHP said.

Officer Javier Navarro said a Jeep Compass was spotted by a patrol unit shortly after 4 a.m. on the freeway, near Magnolia Avenue, in Corona with no license plates.

The patrol officers signaled the driver, whose name was not disclosed, to pull over, but Navarro said the man sped away.

“During the pursuit, the Jeep reached speeds up to 127 mph, exiting and re-entering the freeway several times,” the CHP spokesman said. “The driver exited southbound I-15 at California Oaks Road, where he failed to negotiate the curve in the roadway and overturned.”

Ford was ejected onto the street, along with another passenger, whose name was not released, according to Navarro.

He said the Jeep driver and another occupant of the SUV ran away as CHP officers converged on the location.

Both men were apprehended within a few minutes without further incident.

Ford and the other party ejected onto California Oaks were taken to Inland Valley Medical Center in Wildomar, where Ford died less than an hour later. The other victim suffered major injuries, for which he was continuing to receive treatment Wednesday.

Navarro said the driver of the SUV showed signs of inebriation, but toxicology test results were still pending Wednesday.

The man’s custody status could not immediately be confirmed, nor the status of the passenger who allegedly fled with him.

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