(L.A.) Erick Barbosa-Guardado, 19, Innocent Victim in Police Chase

Case Number: 2023-01876

Los Angeles County is reporting the death of a 19-year-old male of Latin American ethnicity that occurred in a vehicle.

The coroner’s office has identified the young man as Erick Barbosa-Guardado of Reseda, California.

Manner of Death: Accident

Cause of Death: Blunt Force Head Trauma

RIP ERICK BARBOSA-GUARDADO (November 4, 2003 – February 16, 2023)

Student at California State University, Northridge.

The decedent was an innocent victim killed during a police chase. He was driving home from his night shift at a Marshalls department store in Granada Hills when his Honda Civic was struck by a black Toyota RAV4 carrying robbery suspects being pursued by Devonshire police.

After the crash, a perimeter was set up to catch the suspects who had fled on foot. The SUV driver was taken into custody, while the passenger managed to escape.

The CSUN student, Barbosa-Guardado, was pronounced dead at the scene.

This is the third LAPD pursuit crash in three weeks, during which five innocent bystanders were killed.

Socorro Barbosa, the aunt of the latest victim, says the police have to do something to be more careful about endangering the lives of those uninvolved in the chase.