A man drowned while trying to swim across Laguna Lake in Fullerton, authorities said Sunday. Fullerton police and fire personnel were dispatched at about 7 p.m. Saturday to the lake, which is located between Euclid Street and Harbor Boulevard south of Imperial Highway. “Upon arrival, police and fire personnel were notified that an adult male entered the lake, attempted to swim across, and was not seen exiting,” said Kristy Wells of the Fullerton Police Department. An Orange County Sheriff’s Department dive team was called to the location and located the man, who was pronounced dead at the scen ..read more

A woman was killed, and her son was injured following a suspected high-speed crash early Monday in Fullerton. A family friend said Irma Pedraza and her son, Christian, were out getting a late-night snack together when a speeding driver crashed into them at a red light just a couple of blocks away from their favorite donut shop, B&B Donuts. “My mom … woke me up and said, ‘She passed away; she passed away.’” Kassandra Mora, the victims’ family friend, said. “I’m like, ‘No, don’t tell me that.’” Mora said she drove her mother and another family member to the crash scene near Orangethorpe Aven ..read more

One person is dead and three others injured after a multi-vehicle crash just after midnight Monday in Fullerton. The crash was reported at 12:11 a.m. at the intersection of Orangethorpe Avenue and Harbor Boulevard involving a BMW, a black Chevrolet Silverado and a blue Toyota RAV4, Fullerton police said in a press release. A passenger in the Toyota RAV4, a 62-year-old woman from Anaheim, died at the scene. The 22-year-old driver and two others from the other vehicles were taken to a hospital. The cause is under investigation. The BMW’s speed and use of drugs or alcohol may be possible contribu ..read more

A man carrying a white box and suspected of having an explosive device during a bank robbery in Fullerton on Tuesday was shot and killed by police outside a Wells Fargo branch. Officers responded to the 100 block of West Bastanchury Road around 5:10 p.m. Tuesday to a report regarding a possible bank robbery involving an explosive device. The masked man carrying a box with what appeared to be an explosive device inside told a bank employee he had a bomb. Several employees and a customer were in the bank at the time. They were evacuated from the bank. Officers responded within two minutes o ..read more

The Fullerton Police Department is rallying community support for a retired K-9 officer who is undergoing cancer treatment. Titan, an 8-year-old Belgian Malinois, served Orange County communities as a K-9 officer for the Fullerton Police Department for nearly seven years.   But his tenure was cut short after a tumor was discovered during his annual check-up in January. Instead of enjoying his retirement, Titan had to have thyroid cancer surgery. As part of his recovery program, Titan also has to receive iodine radiation treatment that could eliminate any remaining cancer cells in his ..read more

A man who was taken into custody Wednesday by Fullerton police died at a hospital after being struck in the chest by a “kinetic energy projectile” deployed by the officers, authorities said. Officers were sent to a McDonald’s restaurant in the 1300 block of South Brookhurst Road at about 3 a.m. Wednesday “regarding two males that were standing at the front of the doors, possibly under the influence of drugs,” Fullerton police said in a statement. The manager of the business was concerned for employees’ safety as they began to arrive for work, police said ..read more

A Chevy Camaro driver suspected of DUI slammed into two SUVs and a catering van late Wednesday parked on a Fullerton street in a crash that left behind a row of wrecked vehicles. A witness said things could have turned out much worse. The crash was reported just before midnight Wednesday near Chapman Avenue and Lemon Streets, in the area of Fullerton College. A man who was setting up a taco stand said the row of cars served as a barrier, protecting him from the car that crashed into them. The driver in a newer model Chevy Camaro was speeding on Chapman before striking at least three parked veh ..read more

A quiet residential neighborhood of Fullerton is getting an unusually large number of visitors for the second Christmas in a row. Mothers and fathers are stopping by at a community Christmas tree set up on Roosevelt Avenue lined with houses colorfully decorated for Christmas. The visitors may be from all different walks of life, but they have one thing in common: They have lost a child to opioids. “We’re sadly in a club that we never asked to be part of,” explained Adrienne Arellano, whose daughter Addilyne died from an opioid overdose at age 28 on Father’s Day, as she placed an ornament made ..read more

A 3.5 magnitude earthquake was reported in Orange County Monday evening, USGS said. The epicenter was reported to be about 1.2 miles east of Fullerton and struck at approximately 8:09 p.m. The earthquake had a depth of 6.6 miles, according to USGS. Fullerton is about 27 miles away from downtown Los Angeles ..read more

Two Los Angeles Police Department officers searching for a weapon on a freeway in Fullerton after a pursuit were injured Tuesday morning when they were struck from behind by a woman suspected of DUI. The officers were injured around 2 a.m. as they were in their patrol car searching the 57 Freeway for a weapon that was believed to have been thrown out of a car during a pursuit earlier Tuesday morning. The driver wanted in the chase, which began after a report of a stolen vehicle, was arrested. As the officers were searching the freeway after the chase, a woman driving an Infiniti sedan slammed ..read more