Coroner ID’s Suspected Drunk Driver Killed Evading CHP in Pasadena Crash That Injured 4

The coroner’s office Monday released the name of a suspected drunken driver killed after a vehicle pursuit with the California Highway Patrol that ended in a crash involving two other cars at the intersection of Arroyo Parkway and Glenarm Street in Pasadena..

Jesse Ramirez, 33, died at the scene, the coroner’s office said. The CHP said he lived in Los Angeles.

The initial call at 12:06 a.m. Sunday regarded a possible DUI driver on the northbound Arroyo Seco Parkway approaching Fair Oaks Avenue in South Pasadena, the CHP reported.

The crash occurred at 12:38 a.m. south of Glenarm Street, where the freeway ends.

Ramirez was northbound on the Arroyo Seco Parkway with no lights on and unable to stay in one lane, the CHP said. When officers attempted to stop the 2012 Kia Rio, he accelerated at a high rate of speed and rear-ended two vehicles that were stopped at a red light.

Ramirez was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash, the CHP noted.

The driver of a 2003 Volkswagen Jetta suffered moderate injuries and his female passenger suffered major injuries, the CHP said.

The driver of a 2012 Toyota Camry and his male passenger both suffered moderate injuries, the CHP said. Pasadena Fire Dept. Paramedics took the injured people to hospitals.

While the exact cause of the crash remained under investigation, the CHP said it appeared alcohol or drugs were a factor in the collision.