A hit-and-run suspect was shot by police following a pursuit on Pacific Coast Highway in Laguna Beach Thursday, officials said.
The incident began around 6:20 p.m., when an officer saw a multi-vehicle car crash on Highway 1 at the northern tip of Laguna Beach, near Bay Crest Drive, said Laguna Beach police Lt. Jim Cota.
A car involved fled the scene, and officers began chasing the vehicle, Cota said.
The pursuit went north into Newport Beach, but the driver then made a U-turn and headed back south into Laguna, according to the lieutenant.
The chase ended on PCH at Cardinal Drive, after police were able to use their vehicles to block the pursuit driver’s, Cota said.
“As the driver quickly exited the vehicle, an officer-involved shooting occurred, injuring the driver,” a news release from the Laguna Police Department stated.
The driver, identified by police as 36-year-old Tobiah Paul Steinmetz of Jupiter, Florida, was taken to a local hospital in critical but stable condition, according to the news release.
Aerial video of the scene showed a white Mercedes-Benz sedan with damage to its front end facing three police SUVs. Items were strewn across the road.
No other injuries were reported in the incident.
