2 arrested, 1 dead after police pursuit from Newport Beach to Costa Mesa, victim ID’d

Two Los Angeles County men are in jail, while a third is dead, after a Newport Beach police pursuit Sunday led to a crash in Costa Mesa that took down a power pole and caused an hours-long road closure.

The incident began at 2:45 a.m. near the intersection of Santiago Drive and Holiday Road in Newport Beach, where police attempted to make contact with three suspects who were reportedly attempting to steal a vehicle, Lt. Steve Oberon said Monday.

That’s when the trio fled the scene, initiating a pursuit that eventually led to Costa Mesa, causing authorities to contact local law enforcement about the ensuing police activity, CMPD reported Sunday.

Shortly after the call went out, the suspect vehicle, described as a white Lexus sedan, crashed into a power pole near the intersection of 22nd Street and Santa Ana Avenue, according to Costa Mesa police spokeswoman Roxi Fyad.

“We arrived at the scene after the vehicle had crashed,” Fyad said Monday, indicating that Costa Mesa police and fire were joined by a city public works crew and representatives from Southern California Edison. “There was a need to have a large response to this.”

The driver of the vehicle, 20-year-old Carson resident Anthony Rodolfo Samayoa, was transported to a nearby hospital with injuries but was booked into jail in Costa Mesa Sunday night on suspicion of felony DUI, vehicular homicide, evasion and attempted vehicle theft.

Sergio Avalos, 21, of Carson, who’d been riding in the backseat of the suspect vehicle, was also hospitalized from injuries sustained during the crash. Oberon confirmed Monday Newport Beach police subsequently arrested Avalos on suspicion of taking a vehicle without the owner’s consent and a felony charge of conspiracy to commit a crime.

A third occupant, sitting in the front passenger side of the Lexus at the time of the collision, was found unresponsive and pronounced dead at the scene. Fyad said Monday the county coroner’s office had identified the decedent as 20-year-old Carson resident Oscar Axael Macias.

Officers with Costa Mesa police’s Major Accident Investigations Team processed the scene while crews worked to repair the fallen power pole and remove debris. Due to rain, that work resulted in a road closure in the immediate vicinity that lasted until 10 a.m. Sunday, Fyad said.

It is unknown whether the vehicle involved in Sunday’s crash may have been stolen or belonged to the suspects. A follow-up inquiry to Newport Beach police did not receive an immediate response.