Innocent people continue to fall victim to deadly police chases across Southern California

Innoncent man ends up on wrong end of police chase ending in crash

A young man who had nothing to do with the police chase survived a horrific crash that left his SUV in flames.

LOS ANGELES - Over the last several weeks, and some happening as recent as Wednesday, innocent bystanders in Southern California are getting hurt – even killed – in police chases ending in a crash.

FOX 11 spoke with a survivor of one of the crashes happening in SoCal. Back in February, Michael Rodriguez-Sambrano was on his way home from his girlfriend's house when an alleged armed robbery suspect ran a red light and smashed into the young man's car in Fullerton.

Rodriguez-Sambrano, an innocent bystander in that tense situation, was taken to the hospital with broken bones after the crash left his car in flames.

"It is very scary, you know, to see a 3,000-pound machine get thrown around like that with me in it," he told FOX 11.

Over in Los Angeles County, 43-year-old Yolanda Reyna is fighting for her life at the hospital after she was hit by the driver of a stolen pickup truck that the Los Angeles Police Department was chasing after it ran a red light in South Los Angeles back in February.

"She's fighting and she's just a very strong woman, and I don't imagine myself living without her," said Cesar Mercado Reyna, crash victim's son.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: New bodycam video shows arrests in South LA pursuit-crash that left mom of 3 in coma

In addition to the two crashes, other police chases have taken a deadly turn. In February 2023, a police chase in Lynwood ended when the suspect's car crashed into a car with a married couple heading home from a quinceañera, killing the couple and the passenger in the suspect's car. Before that, a group of friends heading home after getting tacos late at night were killed after a police chase suspect hit their car in Panorama City.

Those chases and their tragic outcomes have left some demanding for change in how law enforcement handle these high-speed situations. FOX 11 spoke with various agencies earlier in the week on why they aren't adopting alternatives for police chases. You can click here for these departments' responses.

FOX 11 ORIGINAL: Police chase alternatives exist, so why don't SoCal agencies use them?