A man and woman suspected of stealing pallets of beer from a train in Fontana died after crashing into an Ontario warehouse while fleeing police Wednesday morning, Dec. 29, authorities said.
Around 4:20 a.m., a train conductor called police to alert them of a maroon Chevrolet Astro minivan parked on the railroad tracks south of the 10 Freeway near Calabash and Slover avenues, said Officer Daniel Romero, spokesman for the Fontana Police Department. When an officer responded to do a welfare check, they learned that a man and woman were stealing cargo from a train car in the area, Romero said.
The pair fled west on Slover Avenue in their minivan into nearby Ontario, Romero said. A few minutes later, the minivan continued south through the intersection of South Carnegie Avenue and East Jurupa Street at high speeds and unknowingly collided into the side of a warehouse on the other side of the intersection, he said.
“(South Carnegie Avenue and East Jurupa Street is) a ‘T’ intersection, ending with the driveway of a warehouse,” Romero said. “The occupants didn’t realized that and crashed into the side of the warehouse.”
Ontario Fire Department personnel responded and pronounced both occupants dead at the scene, Romero said. Various pallets of beer from the train were located inside of the car, he said.
Neither of the occupants had been identified as of Wednesday evening, Romero said.
The Union Pacific Railroad is investigating the theft while the Ontario Police Department are investigating the crash.
