Theft suspect killed in crash on 210 Freeway following police pursuit that reached 115 mph

A high-speed police pursuit in Los Angeles County ended in a violent collision on the 210 Freeway on Friday, killing the 26-year-old driver who reached up to 115 mph during the chase.

Paramedics with the Los Angeles County Fire Department said the driver died at the scene at 11:18 a.m. on Friday, according to a California Highway Patrol spokesperson. The driver was the only one in the car, and no one else was injured in the crash, authorities said.

The driver was identified as 26-year-old Matyes Getachew, according to the Medical Examiner’s Office.

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Initially, officers responded to a call about a grand theft in a large department store in Camarillo at around 10 a.m., according to Sgt. Monica Smith with the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department. Responding deputies identified a vehicle they believed to be involved in the theft and attempted to make a traffic stop. The suspect refused to pull over for officers.

The pursuit began in Camarillo with deputies from the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department and continued through Thousand Oaks and into Simi Valley, where CHP officers took over.

The suspect was driving at speeds higher than 115 mph, according to helicopter footage from KTLA, and came to a violent crash eastbound on the 210 Freeway, just west of State Route 2.

Getachew plowed into the back of a truck in La Cañada Flintridge, with the front driver side of the car making a hard impact with the rear passenger side of the truck. Parts of the front and side of the suspect’s vehicle were torn off of the car.

CHP officers attempted to treat the suspect before paramedics responded and pronounced the driver dead.

The CHP and the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department did not provide any additional details about the suspect.

Traffic was closed Friday along the 210 Freeway near the crash scene. One lane of traffic was opened Friday afternoon, but three lanes on the eastbound side remained closed. The transition road from the 210 to the 2 also had three lanes of traffic closed for an unknown duration, CHP officials said.