Driver in fatal Anaheim hit-and-run arrested after chase

A bicyclist was fatally struck by a hit-and-run driver in unincorporated Anaheim on Sunday morning, leading to a pre-dawn chase that ended with a crash in Seal Beach.

Anaheim Police responded to the 9500 block of Ball Road after receiving 911 calls at 5:29 a.m., the California Highway Patrol reported.

Anaheim Police Department spokesman Daron Wyatt said officers briefly pursued the suspect but lost contact with him.

Seal Beach police joined the chase shortly before 6 a.m. and arrested the suspect after he crashed into a fence in near Seal Beach and Westminster boulevards close to the Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station, said Sgt. Michael Henderson, spokesman for the Seal Beach Police Department.

Henderson said an officer discharged his firearm after observing the suspect simulate firing a handgun. The suspect was not hit, and no handgun was recovered, Henderson said. The Seal Beach Police Department is conducting an administrative investigation of the shooting, Henderson said. The California Highway Patrol, which is handling the criminal investigation, identified the suspect as Jason Roy Rocha, 25, of Riverside. Rocha was being held on suspicion of driving under the influence and hit-run, said Officer Duane Graham.

The Orange County Coroner’s office said the victim, who had not yet been identified, was pronounced dead at the scene.

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