Suspect in crash that killed police officer, critically injured
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — The pursuit suspect who died Monday in a crash that also killed a San Diego police officer and left another critically injured has been identified.
Edgar Giovanny Oviedo, 16, of San Diego, was the driver of a BMW sedan involved in the collision in the area of 5200 Clairemont Mesa Blvd., the San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office said on its website.
The crash occurred around 11:30 p.m. after a pursuit was called off for a vehicle that did not pull over while traveling down Clairemont Mesa Boulevard at a high rate of speed, according to SDPD.
Authorities say the BMW laterally collided with the northbound San Diego Police Department patrol vehicle within the roadway’s intersection at Doliva Drive.
Inside that police vehicle was Officer Austin Machitar, 30, of San Diego, and his patrol partner Zachary Martinez, 27, of Lubbock, Texas.
Machitar was pronounced dead at the scene, while Martinez sustained critical injuries. Oviedo died at the hospital.
“Austin was the kind of guy you want on your team. He was athletic, he was a competitor, he had a passion for training, he was one of our field training officers,” San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said during a press conference Tuesday evening.
Martinez has a “very long road to go” and that his “list of injuries are numerous,” according to Wahl, but added that he is “very optimistic he (Martinez) is going to be OK.”
California Highway Patrol is investigating the incident.