Innocent driver, suspect dead after police chase, officer-involved shooting in Ontario

ONTARIO, Calif. (KABC) -- An innocent driver is dead and a suspect was fatally shot by officers following a chase, violent crash and attempted carjacking in Ontario on Sunday, authorities say.

The series of events unfolded after officers responded to a domestic disturbance call in Ontario around 10:30 a.m. A man was reported to be armed and was demanding his ex-girlfriend come outside, police say.

When officers showed up, he was inside his vehicle and refused to come out. Officers say they learned the man was already wanted on a warrant and they asked him to surrender to be arrested, but he refused to exit his car.

Family members later identified the suspect to Eyewitness News as Orlando Montes, 39, of San Bernardino.

After a standoff that lasted about 30 minutes, he drove off at high speeds and officers chased him over surface streets and the 60 freeway, where he reportedly drove into oncoming traffic. He exited the freeway and then was involved in a crash with multiple vehicles in the area of Philadelphia Street and Grove Avenue.

Police later said a woman who was driving one of the other vehicles died after she was brought to a local hospital. Another driver was treated for minor injuries.

After the crash, the suspect fled the scene on foot and tried to carjack another vehicle while armed with a handgun, police say. That's when the officer-involved shooting happened in the area of Cucamonga Avenue and Cedar Street.

Montes was taken to a local hospital and pronounced dead there.

Police say a handgun was recovered at the scene.

A woman who identified herself as Montes' sister said he was struggling with mental-health issues.

"Whatever issues he had, they were (behind) closed doors," Fabiola Montes told Eyewitness News. "He wouldn't come around people when he wasn't feeling well."

"I believe mental health is very important. He knew it and that's why he was trying to get help. He wasn't getting professional help but I think going to church was helping him."