LAKE VIEW TERRACE : Police Identify Man Slain Near Dam Park

Authorities on Monday identified a San Fernando man as the motorist who was fatally shot during a car chase this weekend near Hansen Dam Park.

Louie Herrera, 23, died after a bullet struck him in the back of the head Sunday as he was driving eastbound on Foothill Boulevard near Osborne Street, Los Angeles Police Lt. Gary Hallden said.

Homicide detectives are searching for two males in a light blue Nissan pickup truck who fired several shots at Herrera as they drove behind his El Camino, Hallden said.

Witnesses told police that the pickup positioned itself behind and to the right of Herrera’s car before the truck’s passenger leaned out a window and fired seven times, police said.

After he was shot, Herrera lost control of his car, which rolled over once before hitting several parked cars, police said.

Paramedics pronounced Herrera dead at the scene.

Originally, investigators believed the shooting stemmed from either a gang dispute or an argument in the park. But on Monday, police discounted both possibilities.

“We do not know what happened,” said Hallden. “But as far as we know, it had nothing to do with (a confrontation) in the park or was gang-related. . . . We do know the vehicles had probably been following each other a long time before the shooting.”