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Woman, 24, Dies In Crash Following High Speed Chase In Torrance

TORRANCE (CBS) — A 24-year-old woman fleeing from officers crashed a stolen station wagon into a tree Friday, killing herself, police said.

Two officers on patrol in a squad car saw a 2005 red Volvo station wagon parked in the area of Pacific Coast Highway and Anza Avenue around 2:15 a.m., ran the plates and determined the car had been stolen, said Torrance police Sgt. Keith Fournier. Then, the vehicle took off, triggering a high-speed chase
down PCH, he said.

Vanessa Gomez
(credit: CA Dept. Of Motor Vehicles)

The woman ran red lights, and the officers dropped back, Fournier said. But nonetheless she soon lost control, crossed into the northbound lanes and slammed into a tree at PCH and Airport Drive, he said.

Vanessa Gomez, 24, died at the scene, said coroner's Assistant Chief Ed Winter. No one else was hurt.

(©2011 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)

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