Two people were killed in a crash in Clairemont after a high-speed pursuit by the San Diego Police Department late Monday night.
That makes three such deaths in the last week, while debate continues over the department's vehicle pursuit policy.
Chief Scott Wahl said an officer tried to pull a driver over for speeding, but they didn’t stop.
The officer pursued the car before deciding the chase was too fast and ending it, he said, but the speeding car crashed into another police car with two other responding officers.
The driving officer and the driver of the speeding car both died.
OnScene TV reported the driver was 14- or 15-years-old, but Wahl told reporters he could not confirm the age.
The other officer is in intensive care, Wahl said.
“Due to the enormity of this situation and all the emotion that's behind it, we requested the Highway Patrol come in to conduct an independent investigation into this accident for a full reconstruction of exactly what happened,” he said.
An SDPD vehicle pursuit killed two children in December, 4-year-old Mason and 8-year-old Malikai Orozco-Romero.
In response, the City of San Diego’s Commission on Police Practices reviewed the department’s vehicle pursuit policy.
They found most of these pursuits start for minor things, like speeding or running a red light, and they endanger not just suspects, but bystanders and officers.
Last month, they recommended SDPD limit vehicle pursuits to violent felonies.
The San Diego Police Officers Association pushed back, calling the suggestion horrific and dangerous.
Last week, another person died in a SDPD car chase after losing control of their vehicle.
The Commission on Police Practices declined to comment Tuesday on the status of its recommendations.
