Pursuit Ends in Fatal Crash

A woman was burned to death Sunday when a stolen sports car in which she was riding crashed while being pursued by sheriff’s deputies in Vista.

The chase began when deputies on patrol spotted the car speeding westbound on Bobier Drive about 5:45 a.m., said Sgt. Derek Clark of the Sheriff’s Department.

The driver of the stolen car turned off the headlights and accelerated to about 90 m.p.h. in an attempt to evade the pursuing deputies, Clark said.

The chase ended when the speeding car went into a 400-foot skid and struck a utility pole near North Melrose Drive. The car then caught fire and exploded, Clark said.

The sheriff’s department identified the driver of the car as Sherry Brandt, about 21, of Oceanside. According to the sheriff’s department, she got out of the car before the explosion and was caught as she tried to escape across a field. She was booked in County Jail in Vista on suspicion of car theft and second-degree homicide.

The unidentified woman passenger was burned beyond recognition, said Robert Engel of the medical examiner’s office. “All we have to go on is a little jewelry and possibly dental records if she is reported missing,” Engel said.

Clark said witnesses told of seeing a third person, a long-haired blond male in his early 20s who also may have escaped after the accident. However, that description closely resembles Brandt, the driver, Clark said.

The car had been reported stolen by its owner in Oceanside owner.