Whittier Daily News

Man dies when SUV hits pole, overturns

Friday, November 28, 2003 - SANTA FE SPRINGS -- A 26- year-old Los Angeles man died when the sport utility vehicle he was driving struck a light pole and overturned in Santa Fe Springs early Friday morning, police said.

Francisco Javier Cervantes died at about 2:30 a.m. Friday of massive trauma, said a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office.

Whittier police Sgt. David Hagopian said Cervantes was spotted by Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies, who reported the SUV heading north on Shoemaker Avenue coming from Alondra Avenue.

"They said he accelerated to 100 mph and turned on Firestone (Boulevard),' Hagopian said.

Deputies said they shadowed the speeding SUV westbound on Firestone Boulevard. Hagopian said the deputies had not turned on their lights and were not pursuing the vehicle.

"The SUV drove by some marked units, but there was no pursuit,' he said.

At Firestone and Bloomfield Avenue, Cervantes apparently lost control and his vehicle hit a light standard and overturned.

-- From staff and wire reports