The family of a Hemet man killed Thursday by a fleeing pickup is questioning if police could have prevented the crash by ending a high-speed chase sooner.
Mike Wayne Morgan, 57, was leaving the Soboba Casino at 11:27 a.m. Thursday when a speeding pickup headed for the Soboba Indian Reservation crashed head-on into his Cadillac Deville,

The pickup, driven by Thomas Durnin, 21, was believed to be headed to his home on the reservation while fleeing police. After the crash he was hospitalized and booked on suspicion of murder.
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Thomas Charles Durnin, 21, was arrested on suspicion of murder after police say he crashed into a Cadillac De- ville, killing its driver, while fleeing Beaumont police.

Beaumont police said they had already ended the pursuit when he crossed a double-yellow line to pass slower traffic and collided with Morgan', according to the California Highway Patrol.

Morgan's family said he had been gambling and had just left his wife at the casino. He was driving down the road to go to a nearby flea market when Durnin crossed into his lane.

"We still have a lot of questions we're hoping to get answered," Morgan's son, Paul Perez said. "I don't know if it was necessary they chased him all the way there or if they could have stopped the pursuit earlier."

Beaumont police could not say how long before the crash the pursuit was ordered terminated, citing the investigation.

Department policy states pursuits should be terminated when 'the risks of continuing the pursuit reasonably appear to outweigh the risks resulting from the suspect's escape."

Beaumont police followed Durnin from the city after he sped away from officers during a minor traffic stop. 

Officers said they ended the pursuit when they lost sight of the speeding pickup, but then saw a plume of smoke on Soboba Road from the crash near the Soboba Casino.

Morgan's family members arrived to find the entire front end of his Cadillac destroyed. He was taken to Hemet Valley Medical Center where he was pronounced dead an hour later.

Morgan was a retired school custodian in National City. He had moved to Hemet to be closer to family, including six grandchildren.

"He was a great man. He was always there for his family and would do anything for anybody," Perez said. "This chase was over a traffic ticket. There's no reason for it and I don't see the point to go through all that."

Durnin was previously arrested in 2009 and was released on bond, awaiting charges in a San Jacinto home-invasion robbery.