Driver of stolen U-Haul crashes, kills 1 during San Clemente pursuit, authorities say

Authorities say two people are in custody after the driver of a stolen U-Haul crashed into another vehicle in San Clemente, killing a 53-year-old woman and critically injuring three others early Monday morning.

According to the Orange County Sheriff's Department, deputies attempted to pull over the driver of an allegedly stolen U-Haul just before 8 a.m. on Avenida Granada after noticing it had no license plates. The driver refused, leading to a pursuit.

Less than a minute into the pursuit, the U-Haul's driver collided with a Mazda SUV in the area of Ola Vista and Avenida Granada, located in a residential neighborhood just south of the popular North El Camino Real road and the 5 Freeway. The driver of the U-Haul, which was stolen from somewhere in Whittier, fled the scene, but the passenger was immediately taken into custody.

Four women were inside the Mazda that was hit, three of whom were critically injured and required hospitalization. Authorities confirmed one of the passengers, 53-year-old Anaheim resident Maria Ramirezahmad, was killed. 

"It honestly sounded like someone drove through our house," said Kya Miller, who lives in the house just feet from where the crash happened. 

Miller's boyfriend, Michael Gaspar, said that the U-Haul t-boned the Mazda and pushed it about 50 yards up the street. He said that he was told the vehicle was traveling at 80 miles per hour when the collision happened.

"When we got to the other side of the street, we saw that the cops had to draw their guns on the U-Haul," Gaspar said, also noting that he found a sweatshirt in their backyard and noticed the suspect had used a ladder to jump over their fence.

Deputies later located the U-Haul's driver, and he was taken into custody with the help of a K9 officer as he ran across the 5 Freeway, according to the sheriff's department. He was identified as 39-year-old Cerritos man Mathew Alexander Ronquillo. He was booked for felony evasion, felony evasion causing great bodily injury or death, felony hit and run, gross vehicular manslaughter and possession of a stolen vehicle.

The passenger of the stolen U-Haul was identified as 56-year-old La Habra man Gregorio Horacio Trejochavez. He was treated at the scene for injuries sustained in the crash and booked for a probation violation, deputies said.

No additional details were immediately made available as California Highway Patrol detectives assumed the investigation.