Crime & Safety

Police Chase Starts in Capo Beach, Ends in Fatal Crash

A woman died after leading deputies on a chase south on the I-5 Freeway.

An I-5 police chase that began at Doheny State Beach in Dana Point ended in a woman dead of an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound Wednesday afternoon, Orange County Sheriff's Department Lt. Jeff Hallock said.

Someone called the OCSD around 12:30 p.m. stating that the unidentified woman was despondent and threatening suicide, Hallock said. Deputies found the woman in a parking lot near Doheny.

The woman gave chase and drove down I-5 south toward San Diego. She later crashed south of the Orange County border, possibly near the entrance to San Onofre State Beach, Hallock said.

"Based on the information we have it appears it's going to be ruled a suicide," he said, noting that San Diego County Medical Examiner Office will make that determination following an investigation.

The crash delayed Amtrak 774 by about 50 minutes, according to the North County Transit District's Twitter feed.


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