A driver who was fatally shot by sheriff's deputies on the Barona Ranch Indian Reservation may have attempted to ram a tribal security officer with his pickup truck minutes earlier, authorities said Thursday.
Barona Tribal Enforcement officers requested sheriff's deputies to assist in apprehending a reckless driver in a white pickup truck around 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, according to sheriff's Lt. Greg Rylaarsdam.
"While responding to the call, the deputy learned the driver had possibly tried to hit a tribal security officer with his truck," Rylaarsdam said in a statement.
A deputy attempted to pull the truck over shortly afterward, but the suspect took off.
Rylaarsdam said the deputy was struck by the suspect's truck and suffered a minor injury to his hand.
A short pursuit ensued over backcountry roadways and through off-road areas.
The suspect eventually stopped along Ketuull Uunyaa Way near Wildcat Canyon Road and exited the pickup truck. He was "extremely agitated and uncooperative with deputies," according to the lieutenant.
Deputies shot him with bean bag rounds and attempted to flatten the trucks tires, but the suspect re-entered the vehicle and again tried to flee.
Two deputies then opened fire with their department-issued weapons, and the truck crashed into a marked patrol car, Rylaarsdam said. The truck hit another vehicle, which left its two occupants injured, before rolling to a stop in the brush on the roadside.
The driver was found unresponsive inside the pickup truck and died at the scene, Rylaarsdam said. His name was not immediately available.
The two occupants of the vehicle struck by the suspect's truck were taken to hospitals in an unknown condition. The injured deputy was treated at the scene, Rylaarsdam said.
