A driver in a nearby car was killed Tuesday when an L.A. County sheriff’s pursuit ended in a fiery crash near the Original Farmers Market in the Fairfax district.
The pursuit began when deputies stopped a silver car for a traffic violation at about 10:30 p.m., according to Deputy Trina Schrader, a department spokeswoman.
The driver assaulted a deputy and took off, Schrader said.
Schrader did not know the location of the traffic stop.
Deputies pursued the driver until he crashed his car into a blue SUV at the busy intersection of Third Street and Fairfax Avenue.
The front of his car caught fire, while the SUV was pinned between a tree and a building.
Firefighters took about five minutes to free the SUV driver, according to Nicholas Prange, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Fire Department.
Schrader said the SUV driver was pronounced dead at the scene. The L.A. County Medical Examiner-Coroner’s office identified him as Jeeves Tangonan, 37.
The driver involved in the pursuit was taken into custody and is being treated for injuries at a hospital. Sheriff’s officials have not released his identity.