A police chase that began as Corona police investigated a man accused of violating a domestic violence retraining order halted traffic on Highway 91 for six hours and ended with his suicide on the highway. .
The Corona Police Department was investigating Efrain Quezada, 40, of La Puente in the days leading up to Friday’s manhunt, said police Cpl. Tobias Kurubakaris.
Corona police officers are actively searching for Quesada, who is charged with stalking, making criminal threats and violating a domestic violence restraining order.
Police attempted to conduct a traffic stop in the area of McKinley Street and Griffin Road in Corona around 8:05 a.m. Friday when they spotted Quesada, but he refused to pull over.
Instead, he led police on a chase on westbound Highway 91 for about 15 minutes before parking his blue four-door sedan in the middle of the road.
The Anaheim and Corona police departments surrounded the sedan with armored vehicles so he could not move the car.
“Almost the entire time, [Corona Police crisis negotiators] “We were on the phone with him on and off, trying to negotiate a peaceful surrender,” Kurubakaris said.
Both sides of the highway were closed for about six hours due to the standoff. The California Highway Patrol directed the driver behind the standoff to exit the highway.
Kurubakaris said the negotiations went nowhere and Quezada shot himself around noon.
According to Caltrans Region 12, traffic began to flow again on the eastbound side of Highway 91 around 12:45 p.m., but the westbound side remained closed until 3:48 p.m., the Orange County Coroner’s Office and A forensic team is investigating.
During the standoff, law enforcement vehicles placed a barrier between Quesada and the miles-long line of waiting drivers.
Kurubakaris said he knew people had complaints about the traffic.
“Our response to that is, if it was a family member or friend, they would expect us or any law enforcement agency to make a reasonable effort to peacefully remove him from the vehicle,” he said.
“We tried our best to get him to voluntarily obey us and get out of the car, but we were unsuccessful,” Kurubakaris said.
