By Khalida Sarwari and Dan McMenamin
A high-speed pursuit that killed two people early this morning in downtown San Jose started when a pair of California Highway Patrol officers tried to stop an SUV that was missing its front license plate, according to CHP officials.
At about 1:25 a.m., two San Jose area CHP officers on patrol saw a green 2003 Ford Explorer with no front license plate and initiated a traffic stop, according to the CHP.
The Ford pulled over to the right shoulder of eastbound Carlysle Street west of North Almaden Avenue, but as the officers approached, the car sped off, the CHP said.
The officers returned to their patrol car, activated their lights and siren, and followed the Ford. They eventually lost sight of the SUV, so they discontinued their pursuit and remained in the area looking for it.
A short time later, the officers noticed the Ford several hundred yards ahead driving erratically on eastbound East Saint James Street approaching North Sixth Street, according to the CHP.
As the officers activated their emergency equipment and went after the Ford, the vehicle lost control and crashed into two parked cars.
San Jose police officers responded to the intersection of East Saint James Street and North Sixth Street on a report of a vehicle that had crashed into two parked cars and overturned, San Jose police Officer Jose Garcia said.
The crashed Ford contained four people: a 19-year-old man who was driving, a male passenger in the front seat, and two more in the back, Garcia said.
The two men in the rear of the car were pronounced dead at the scene. Garcia did not have their names or ages.
The driver and front-seat passenger were taken to a hospital with injuries that are not believed to be life threatening.
San Jose police are handling the investigation of the crash while the CHP is investigating the events that led up to it, Garcia said.