Man shot by police dies

A Foothill Ranch man, shot by police Tuesday morning while allegedly trying to flee the scene of a traffic collision in Laguna Beach, died that evening at Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo.

Colby Joshua Koenig, 25, was shot by Laguna Beach police, who had responded to a report of a crash at 7:55 a.m.

“We won’t know the cause of his death until we get the results of the autopsy and toxicology reports, which could take weeks,” Lt. Jason Kravetz said.

The shooting is being investigated by the Orange County district attorney’s office, the usual procedure in officer-related shootings.

“We will not release any information until we have concluded our investigation,” D.A. spokeswoman Farrah Emami said.

This was the first use of deadly force by Laguna Beach police since the shooting at Montage Resort & Spa in 2007.

A police spokesman on Wednesday still had no answer to what triggered the use of deadly force.

More than one officer opened fire, Kravetz said.

“However, witnesses said they saw the car moving back and forth and words were exchanged by the driver and an officer before the shots,” Kravetz said Tuesday at the incident command and information center at St. Anns Drive.

Police had numerous reports of a black Mitsubishi Lancer speeding erratically up Coast Highway. Orange County Sheriff’s headquarters was called and the information was relayed to Laguna.

The car was also observed blowing past police officers controlling traffic at Wesley Drive where the signal was out of order due to a power outage. Other witnesses saw the car speeding down the center lane of South Coast Highway at Calliope Street just before the crash.

“We’ve had reports of speeds from 70 to 100 miles an hour,” Kravetz said.

Reports had the Lancer in the 38000 block of Coast Highway at 7:55 a.m., out of sight at Diamond Street at 7:56 a.m. and at St. Anns at 7:57 a.m.

Teenage surfers heading to school from North Reef reportedly returned to the beach and told surfer Travis Gleason, 29, they had seen the shooting.

“They were really freaked out,” said Gleason, who was still in the water when he heard the noise of the collision. “They said six shots were fired.”

Witnesses were taken to the City Council Chambers at City Hall to get their version of the collision that reportedly involved six vehicles and the shooting. Any witnesses who left the scene before talking to officers or have other information about the driver are asked to call Kravetz at (949) 497-0307.