Redding Police Kill Man Who Rammed Patrol Car

REDDING, Calif. (AP) — Police have shot and killed a man they say drove his car head-on into a patrol vehicle in Northern California.

The man was pronounced dead at a hospital Sunday in Redding, north of Sacramento, the Shasta County Sheriff's Office said in a statement Monday. His name was not immediately released.

The confrontation began shortly before 3:20 a.m. when a Redding officer saw a Scion swerving across traffic lanes and pulled it over in a parking lot, according to the Sheriff's Office.

The driver, who had two passengers, appeared to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and the car was associated with a man who was wanted on charges of theft and robbery in Washington state, the office said.

Two other officers arrived. The man was ordered to leave the car but refused, authorities said.

Instead, he rolled up the window, shifted into reverse and sped up, hitting an embankment, then shifted into drive and sped toward the three patrol cars, sideswiping one, according to the Sheriff's Office.

The driver didn't hit a second vehicle but sped toward a third patrol car before ramming it head-on, authorities said.

The collision set off airbags in the Scion. A passenger in the car and a civilian who was on a ride-along in the patrol car were treated for injuries, authorities said.

An officer next to the patrol vehicle had to move out of the path of the oncoming car, they said.

"During these events, a Redding police officer fired his duty weapon, striking the driver, immediately stopping his violent actions," the Sheriff's Office statement said.