A 22-year-old man from Twain Harte is dead after a late-night pursuit with Mariposa County sheriff's deputies ended in a rollover crash on Highway 132 near La Grange. The crash happened a little after 12:30 a.m. Sunday on the highway west of Fields Road, authorities said.
According to CBS News, the California Highway Patrol said officers were pursuing the man in connection with a reported domestic violence incident. He was driving a 2004 Chevrolet pickup, and the Mariposa County Sheriff's Office said he crossed into the opposite lane several times during the chase.
The pursuit ended when the driver, heading west at a high rate of speed, lost control after going off a curve. The pickup ran off the road and overturned, ejecting him from the vehicle. The station's report notes he was not wearing a seat belt.
Deputies Attempted Lifesaving Measures
Mariposa County sheriff's deputies attempted lifesaving measures at the scene, but the driver died there. Authorities had not released his name as of the report, and the CHP is investigating the crash.
Alcohol is suspected as a contributing factor in the crash, pending an autopsy by the Stanislaus County Coroner's Office, per the same account. That determination remains unresolved until the autopsy is complete.
Another Deadly Crash on the Same Highway
This is not the first fatal wreck on Highway 132. In December 2023, one person was killed and another was severely injured when a vehicle crashed into a tree near Don Pedro Reservoir, according to The Modesto Bee. In that crash, a westbound 2008 Subaru Outback left Highway 132 about 10 miles east of La Grange, near Zarzamora Street in Tuolumne County, and the passenger killed was identified as 17-year-old Sonora resident Lydia Koelzow. The CHP's initial findings in that incident indicated the driver was traveling at a high rate of speed.
How Common Are Fatal Pursuit Crashes
How Common Are Fatal Pursuit Crashes Police pursuits carry documented risk statewide. A 2020 report to the California Legislature found that 11,650 pursuits were reported to the California Highway Patrol that year, with 2,478, or 21.2 percent, resulting in a crash. That report also found 47 fatal crashes and 61 deaths statewide. Of those killed, 32 were drivers of pursued vehicles, 17 were passengers in pursued vehicles, and 12 were uninvolved third parties.
In 2023, 32 fatal crashes accounted for 1.2 percent of crashes. Research published in JAMA Network Open, via PubMed Central, has similarly found that police pursuits account for approximately 1 percent of motor vehicle fatalities nationally and can expose suspects, officers, and bystanders to preventable harm, according to the study hosted by PubMed Central.
No further details about the Twain Harte man's identity or the status of the underlying domestic violence case have been released. The CHP's investigation into Sunday's crash remains ongoing.
