An innocent driver died after being caught in the crosshairs of a California Highway Patrol pursuit that ended in a crash in Corona early Sunday, April 13.

The Highway Patrol in a Monday statement said it received multiple calls reporting vehicles blocking traffic for illegal street racing on the 60 Freeway near Euclid Avenue in Ontario. Responding officers tried to stop an Infiniti involved in racing, but the driver didn’t stop and officers chased him.

The driver, 22-year-old Modesto Daniel Carpio IV of San Jacinto, led the officers from the 15 Freeway onto the westbound 91 Freeway, sometimes exceeding 100 mph, according to the Highway Patrol.

During the chase, the Infiniti hit a semi-truck hauling a trailer just east of Lincoln Avenue, pushing the semi-truck into a freeway noise barrier and ejecting the driver, 35-year-old Stephen Palacios of Rancho Cucamonga.

Emergency responders transported Palacios to a hospital, where he died.

A passenger in the semi-truck was also hospitalized with moderate injuries, the Highway Patrol said.

Carpio wasn’t injured, and officers arrested him. Jail records show he was booked on suspicion of second-degree murder and evading with death.

Investigators didn’t find evidence of drugs or alcohol playing a factor in the crash.

The Highway Patrol asks anyone with information about the crash to call 909-980-3994.

City News Service contributed to this story.

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