A passenger in a pickup truck was killed and another woman was injured when the driver, a Marine lance corporal, crashed while being pursued by Escondido police, authorities said Tuesday.
The driver, identified as 21-year-old John Eugene Brand who was stationed at U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) Air Station Miramar, was arrested and jailed on suspicion of multiple charges, the Escondido Police Department said.
At about 10:28 p.m. Monday, officers responded to Dick's Sporting Goods on Auto Park Way after reports of a man and two women stealing merchandise.
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As officers arrived, the suspects entered a pickup truck and fled the scene, authorities said. Officers pursued the truck east through Escondido onto Washington Avenue, where the driver tried to make a high-speed turn onto Fig Street but lost control and collided with a retaining wall.
The USMC 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing originally said the crashed truck was a government vehicle that was considered stolen at the time of the crash but later said the circumstances around the incident was still under investigation so that was not yet confirmed. Stolen articles of clothing were recovered from the truck, police said.
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The two female passengers were ejected, and the driver ran away. Both women were taken to a hospital, police said, where one was pronounced dead.
The deceased woman was identified Tuesday night as Shevondia Compare-Bell, 18, of San Diego.
The second woman underwent surgery and was expected to survive. She told investigating officers that she asked the driver to pull over several times, but he refused to let her out of the vehicle, police said.
The names of the two women were withheld pending notification to their families.
Brand was arrested after officers allegedly found him hiding a block from the crash scene. He was taken to the Vista Detention Facility and booked on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter, kidnapping, evading police, hit and run resulting in death or injury, burglary and conspiracy.
He is scheduled to appear in court on Thursday.
