The fatal collision occurred around 1:40 a.m. Sunday, March 11, on Avenue F east of 15th Street West in Lancaster. A female deputy was injured when 23-year-old Dominique Johnson veered his 1998 Volvo into oncoming traffic and collided head-on with a sheriff’s patrol vehicle. Johnson was pronounced dead at the scene.
The head-on collision happened as Johnson was allegedly fleeing the scene of a hit-and-run that occurred moments before in the vicinity of the northbound SR-14 Avenue F off-ramp, according to the CHP.
Johnson’s Volvo allegedly rear-ended a small SUV, and both vehicles were stopped on the off-ramp, officials said. When CHP officers approached the two vehicles, Johnson drove away from the scene, prompting the pursuit that ended in the fatal crash, according to the CHP. [Read more here.]
CHP officials believe the SUV’s driver witnessed the fatal collision and they’re now trying to find him.
“Investigators are encouraging the driver of the SUV to contact the California Highway Patrol as soon as possible. If you were driving in the area on this date, or have contact information for a person or persons who were, please contact CHP Officer Wheeler or CHP Officer Gil Hernandez at 661-948-9541,” reads a CHP statement.
Previous related story: Motorist fleeing CHP killed in wrong-way crash with LASD patrol vehicle
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The suspect driver, whose name has not yet been released, was pronounced dead at the scene; while a passenger in his vehicle, 30-year-old Antonio Adam Enriquez of California City, sustained moderate injuries and was transported via ambulance to Antelope Valley Hospital. The female deputy in the marked black and white patrol vehicle sustained injuries to her left side and was transported to a hospital where she was listed in stable condition, officials said.
The incident that preceded the fatal crash began on the northbound SR-14 Avenue F off-ramp, when two CHP officers on routine patrol pulled in behind two vehicles that were stopped, according to the CHP report.
As the officers approached the vehicles, “the driver of the 1998 Volvo drove off, leaving the scene, turning onto eastbound Avenue F,” the CHP report states. The other driver advised the officers that he had been rear-ended by the Volvo, according to the CHP report.
The CHP officers pursued “the Volvo and made an attempt to pull it over by activating the patrol vehicle’s emergency lights (Code 3). The Volvo almost immediately, for unknown reasons, veered to the left and crashed head-on with an LASD patrol vehicle that was traveling westbound on Avenue F,” the CHP report states.
“The LASD Deputy was responding to a call she had been dispatched to, with no lights or siren, completely unaware of this incident,” the CHP report states.
“Alcohol and/or drugs is suspected to be a factor in this traffic collision, pending Los Angeles County Coroner’s toxicology report,” the CHP report states.
Avenue F, from 20th Street West to Sierra Highway, was closed until around 1 p.m. Sunday, March 11, to allow for the investigation. The incident remains under investigation by the California Highway Patrol.
Anyone with information regarding this incident is encouraged to contact Officer Ken Wheeler or Officer Gil Hernandez at the Antelope Valley CHP Office at 661-948-8541.