LOCAL : Police Car Strikes, Kills Fleeing Auto Theft Suspect in Sylmar

A suspected thief jumped from a stolen car during a police pursuit in Sylmar this morning and was struck and killed by the patrol car chasing him, Los Angeles police said.

The name of the dead man was not known because he carried no identification, police said. He was killed at 2:35 a.m. at the intersection of Glenoaks Boulevard and Polk Street, said Officer Brett Peters of the Valley Traffic Division. The names of the officers in the car that struck the man were not released.

Police said the fatal accident occurred at the end of a three-mile chase that began shortly after the officers in the patrol car received a call that a resident near Dronfield Avenue and Sayre Street reported that his car, a brown 1977 Datsun 280-Z, had just been stolen.

The officers drove to the area and saw the car speed past a stop sign, Peters said. The officers put on their car’s emergency lights and chased the Datsun. But the fleeing car sped ahead while the officers stopped at traffic signals and stop signs as a safety precaution, Peters said. Police estimated the fleeing car reached speeds of 70 m.p.h.

The man got out of the vehicle when it spun out and stalled, Peters said. He was struck by the pursuing police car and died at the scene.