03.03.2020 | 1:12 AM | NEWPORT BEACH – One person was dead and another was seriously injured after being ejected from a sports car that split in half when it crashed while fleeing from police, early Tuesday morning.
Newport Beach police officers attempted to stop a silver 2016 Mercedes-Benz AMG coupe wanted in connection with a dispute that occurred at a bar on the Balboa Peninsula shortly after 1:00 AM.
The driver of the vehicle, described only as a male in his 20s, failed to yield to officers leading them on a high-speed pursuit on Balboa Boulevard towards the end of the peninsula.
Officers lost sight of the vehicle but quickly regained visual as the driver began traveling back towards the base of the peninsula.
Once officers were behind the vehicle for a second time the driver lost control and crashed into a palm tree at the intersection of West Balboa Boulevard and 24th Street around 1:12 AM.
The force of the crash split the vehicle in half, ejecting a female passenger and killing the driver on impact.
The vehicle’s engine was ejected from the split car and thrown approximately 100-feet before striking a parked vehicle.
Firefighter paramedics treated the female passenger on scene before transporting her to an area hospital with major injuries.
The driver of the vehicle was still trapped in the wreckage and pronounced deceased on scene from obvious trauma.
A massive debris field necessitated multiple road closures in the area that effectively halted all traffic heading towards the end of the peninsula.
The California Highway Patrol’s Multidisciplinary Accident Investigation Team (MAIT) is investigating.