3 dead after police chase comes to an end in Garden Grove, truck crashes into swimming pool

GARDEN GROVE, Calif. - A pickup truck being chased by police crashed into another vehicle and ended up in a residential swimming pool, killing both motorists and a passenger.

It happened at a home near the intersection of South Euclid Street and Orangewood Avenue in Garden Grove.

"It was just a spontaneous boom into the wall," said homeowner Annette Agosta. She and her roommates were asleep when they heard the loud crash just after 2 a.m. Friday.

"Just heard this loud boom boom right at 2 a.m.. came out here, there was a car upside down in the pool and the fire hydrant water was going everywhere," said Renee Robinson.

The women were shocked to see the Dodge Ram Pickup Truck upside down in their pool and took pictures and videos of the crash scene.

"When we heard it, we both ran out the doors. It was dark, of course, and we saw the police were right there so there was no waiting for police. The sirens were right there because they were chasing them," said Agosta.

Before the crash, police say they spotted the pickup speeding through a nearby parking lot and attempted to stop the driver. That’s when they say the truck sped off, hitting a car with a man inside, before slamming into the retaining wall and landing in the pool. When the sun came up, rescue crews pulled the truck from the water and discovered the bodies of two deceased men.

"The smell was horrific. All the oil and the gas and we knew that there was one person in the vehicle in the pool and when they got that person out discovered, there was another person in there," Robinson said.

Police say the bystander in the other vehicle that was struck also died. Family members identified him as Michael Clugston. They say he was a loving father and husband who was on his way to work when he got caught up in the chase.  

The family has set up a GoFundMe page for Michael. 

Meanwhile, the women who live at the house say they are lucky to be alive and believe that the pool likely stopped the truck from slamming into their house.

"We won’t be to absorb it... My roommate says she’ll probably have nightmares about this you don’t absorb it," Agosta said.

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