Man pursued by Seal Beach police before fatal crash in Long Beach was wanted by federal authorities

A man who fled from police in Seal Beach before getting into a multivehicle crash in Long Beach that left one person dead Tuesday was wanted by federal authorities and had previously been sentenced to over seven years in prison for drug and firearms related offenses in Northern California.

Chaz Lamar Long, 39, of Antioch, allegedly took off after officers stopped the silver 2006 Lexus he was in for a traffic violation near Pacific Coast Highway and Marina Drive at 7:58 p.m., according to a Seal Beach police news release. Officers followed him north on PCH into Long Beach, and the sedan eventually slammed into multiple cars near 2nd Street at 8:05 p.m.

Sara Shorteno, 74, of Toronto, was riding in one of the other eight vehicles involved in the crash and died at the scene, police said. Several others had to be hospitalized.

An infant and one other passenger were with Long at the time, police said. He attempted to run away, and Long Beach police used a stun gun to take him into custody. He was held in lieu of $2-million bail as of Wednesday afternoon, according to online records.

Long was on parole following his release from a federal prison in Phoenix on Nov. 12, 2021. In 2014, he had been charged in Northern California with federal counts for having a 9-millimeter Beretta pistol while being a felon and the possession of 10.8 or more grams of a substance containing methamphetamine for sale, both felonies.

He was ultimately sentenced to 90 months in prison followed by 10 years of supervised release in July 2015. A judge had recommended that he participate in a residential drug treatment program to have his charges dismissed, but it was unclear from online documents if he had successfully enrolled in or completed it.

Long was the subject of a federal arrest warrant at the time of the pursuit and fatal crash. Officials did not immediately provide details about the case he was wanted for.

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