Fil-Am police officer killed in fiery crash during pursuit of suspect

Officer Austin Machitar died at the scene of the collision. Image: Maria Arcega Dunn/Facebook

SAN DIEGO – A Filipino American police officer with the San Diego Police Department was killed and a second officer was clinging to life Tuesday following a fiery traffic crash in San Diego that also killed a motorist, who allegedly fled from an attempted late-night traffic stop.

The police SUV cruiser, the BMW the suspect was driving at high speed and several other vehicles collided at about 11:30 p.m. Monday in the 5200 block of Clairemont Mesa Boulevard, near Doliva Drive, SDPD Chief Scott Wahl told reporters.

The crash sent one of the lawmen, Officer Zach Martinez, 29, through the windshield of the police vehicle, which then caught fire, OnSceneTV reported.

The driver of the cruiser, Filipino American SDPD officer Austin Machitar, 30, died at the scene of the collision. Paramedics took Martinez to a trauma center, where he remained in critical condition Tuesday evening.

In a Facebook post, Emmy award-winning Fil-Am journalist and Fox 5 San Diego news anchor Maria Arcega-Dunn mourned the death of Machitar, saying it was “especially difficult” since he was “a member of my Filipino community.”

“Words are never enough to convey the pain and loss San Diego feels right now. Please keep their families and friends in your prayers,” she writes.

The suspect also was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead, Wahl said. He was believed to be a 14- or 15-year-old boy, according to the video news service. His name has not been released.

Fighting back tears as he spoke to reporters, Wahl said, “It is for any other reason that I’d rather be in front of you all today than to have to announce the passing of one of our officers last night, and a second officer that’s fighting for his life in the hospital.

“Last night, we had a vehicle that was traveling at a high rate of speed down Clairemont Mesa Boulevard,” Wahl said. “We had a police officer that tried to initiate a traffic stop. The (suspect) failed to yield, and a brief pursuit ensued.

“Due to the high rate of speed, a supervisor terminated that pursuit. Two officers working together in one vehicle were responding to that fleeing suspect, and ultimately the suspect vehicle collided at a high rate of speed into the side of their vehicle.”

The people in the other cars involved in the pileup were not seriously injured, the police chief said.

The SDPD has turned over investigations into the fatal crash to the California Highway Patrol “due to the enormity of the situation and all the emotion that’s behind it,” Wahl said.

“I can’t put into words the feelings that come at a time like this, when we have police officers that are coming to work to make a difference, to help those in need, and are putting their lives on the line for people they don’t even know,” Wahl told reporters. “And last night we lost a good one.”

SDPD officer Austin Machitar was a 30-year-old father of four. Image: Maria Arcega Dunn/Facebook

The police chief described Machitar, who served with the SDPD for about 5 1/2 years, as a “San Diego kid” who “was the kind of guy you want on your team.”

“He was athletic,” Wahl said. “He was a competitor. He had a passion for training. … Austin had a very infectious smile and a character that made him one of a kind.”

Martinez, a Texas native, is an 18-month member of the SDPD, as well as a Navy Reservist and emergency medical technician, the police chief said during a late-afternoon briefing.

“He was born and raised to serve. … His heart is into helping people,” Wahl said. “We are very optimistic he’s going to be OK, but he has a very long road to go.” (With CNS report)