Car crashes into Newport garage; one woman dead

A 26-year-old Cerritos woman was killed early Saturday when the car she was riding in crashed into the garage of a Newport Beach home after a high-speed police pursuit.

The driver of the car was hospitalized with moderate injuries and was arrested on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter, police said. A passenger was treated for minor injuries.

Police believe alcohol was a factor in the crash, Newport Beach Lt. Tom Gazsi said.

The short pursuit began at the Coronado Apartments at 16th Street and Irvine Avenue at 3:20 a.m. Saturday when police were called to a disturbance involving a dark-colored vehicle. When a Newport Beach police officer attempted to stop a black two-door Volvo sedan, the driver fled, driving through several stop signs at high speed, Gazsi said.

The Volvo was traveling so fast southbound on Irvine Avenue that the officer lost sight of the car, Gazsi said.

“It was such a speed that the officer didn’t feel comfortable traveling at that speed,” Gazsi said.

When the officer reached the intersection of Irvine Avenue and Cliff Drive, the officer saw that the Volvo had crashed into a white pickup truck and pushed the truck into the garage of a home in the 2200 block of Cliff Drive.

Police don’t know how fast the Volvo was going when it hit the parked car, but based on the damage, it’s clear the car was traveling at a very high speed, Gazsi said.

The crash shoved a full-size Ford truck, which was parked in the driveway, through the right side of the three-car garage, taking out a major support beam in the garage.

The first firefighters on the scene worked to shore up the sagging garage roof and free the injured people inside the car, Newport Beach Fire Capt. Dennis Edwards said.

When the Volvo hit the truck, it’s likely that its rear-end hit the eves of the garage, crushing the car’s rear compartment, Edwards said.

Helen Chu was in the back passenger seat and was pronounced dead at the scene, officials said.

The driver, 21-year-old Jesse Lee Thompson, of Poway, was arrested on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter. Thompson and another passenger, Kevin Todd Alsing, were taken to Western Medical Center in Santa Ana. Alsing, of Temecula, was treated for non-life-threatening injuries, Gazsi said.

It’s unknown what the three were doing at the Coronado Apartments in Newport Beach, Gazsi said.

At 10 a.m. Saturday, Costa Mesa firefighters were still on scene, working to stabilize the structure. Costa Mesa Rescue Squad 85 worked to make the garage safe for investigators.

The garage will likely have to be torn down, Costa Mesa Fire Capt. Ron Cloe said.

Neighbors said the crash could be heard from several blocks away.

“It was like an explosion,” Judy Cookson, who lives two blocks away, said.