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CHP Officer Killed During Pursuit

CHP officers investigate the accident scene, where fellow officer Tom Coleman died during a high-speed pursuit Friday morning.

LOS ANGELES – The California Highway Patrol officer who was killed Friday morning during a pursuit in Redlands was identified as Tom Coleman, an officer in the San Bernardino division of the agency, officials said.

Chp2 Coleman, a seven-year veteran of the department, was killed about 6:30 a.m. during a pursuit that began minutes earlier when he tried to pull over a Ford Focus on Mountain View Drive near the 210 Freeway and the driver wouldn’t stop, said Mario Lopez, a spokesman for the Inland division of the CHP.

Within a few minutes, Coleman crashed into a big rig and the suspect continued on, crashing moments later with another car near the Citrus Plaza shopping center. The four people inside the Ford Focus were arrested.

On Friday morning, a blue and silver CHP helmet lay on the side of the intersection of San Bernardino Avenue and Alabama Street, where Coleman was killed. Part of a mangled motorcycle lay nearby. Coleman’s body was draped in an American flag, which was shrouded by a red tarp.

“It was a very short pursuit," Lopez said. “It happened no more than one or two minutes later.”

CHP Officer Daniel Hesser said Coleman was traveling using lights and sirens. Coleman, a married father of two, was declared dead at the scene.

The fatality was the second serious accident this week involving a CHP motorcycle officer. On Wednesday, a driver who veered onto the shoulder of the 405 Freeway in West L.A. hit an officer who is still hospitalized in critical condition.

“It’s heartbreaking," Lopez said Friday. “A few days ago, we had another officer go down in the L.A. area.”