A stopped Volvo SUV and Sacramento County sheriff’s vehicles line westbound Highway 50 early Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026, after an officer-involved shooting between the Hazel Avenue and Sunrise Boulevard exits of the freeway near Rancho Cordova.
Daniel Hunt
dhunt@sacbee.com
This is a developing story; check back with sacbee.com for updates.
Westbound Highway 50 remains closed between Hazel Avenue and Sunrise Boulevard early Tuesday after a fatal shooting involving officers from three law enforcement agencies, a closure expected to disrupt the morning commute into Sacramento.
Motorists traveling toward Sacramento from Folsom and El Dorado Hills were urged to use Folsom Boulevard as an alternate route, California Highway Patrol Officer Andrew Brown said. Drivers also could take Greenback Lane west through Orangevale and Citrus Heights to Sunrise Boulevard to bypass the closure.
The CHP and Caltrans did not have an estimated time for reopening the freeway, Brown said, as investigators processed the scene on the freeway dividing Rancho Cordova and Gold River.
The shooting occurred just after midnight after the driver of a Volvo SUV evaded the California Highway Patrol and other law enforcement officers during an attempted felony stop near Folsom and Sunrise boulevards.
Sacramento County sheriff’s deputies and Citrus Heights police assisted as officers tried for more than a half-hour to stop the driver on the freeway and surface streets. The pursuit ended on Highway 50 just west of Hazel Avenue when the vehicle became disabled.
At least one CHP officer, sheriff’s deputy and Citrus Heights officer fired their weapons in the shooting, Brown and sheriff’s spokesperson Sgt. Ed Igoe said.
The man who was shot was taken to Mercy San Juan Medical Center, where he later died, Brown said. No officers were injured, Brown and Igoe said.
Authorities confirmed the CHP would serve as the primary agency investigating the shooting.
This story was originally published September 8, 2026 at 3:15 AM.
The Sacramento Bee
Daniel Hunt is the local accountability and breaking news editor for The Sacramento Bee; he joined the newspaper in 2013.