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Justin Xavier Cann

Age : 21

Gender : Male

Race : White

Date : 06/17/2026

Location : 5800 block of Linda Vista Road near Goshen Street

City : San Diego

County : San Diego

State : California

Agency : San Diego Police Department

Officer(s) :Not disclosed

Cause of Death : Vehicle

Event : Pedestrian killed by police vehicle crash

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

On 06/17/2026, 21-year-old Justin Xavier Cann of Aurora, Colorado, a University of San Diego student, was struck and killed by a marked San Diego Police Department patrol vehicle in the 5800 block of Linda Vista Road near Goshen Street in San Diego, California.
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At approximately 1:30 a.m., an SDPD Western Division officer was driving a marked patrol vehicle westbound and downhill on Linda Vista Road near the university campus. According to SDPD, the officer reported feeling an impact on the patrol vehicle, turned around and found Cann lying in the roadway.
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The officer and additional officers who arrived at the scene provided first aid. San Diego Fire-Rescue personnel transported Cann to a hospital, where he died from his injuries. Initial police and news reports described Cann only as a white man in his early 20s, while the University of San Diego confirmed that he was a student but initially withheld his identity out of respect for his family.
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The following day, authorities publicly identified the student as Justin Xavier Cann, 21, of Aurora, Colorado. The San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office also identified Cann.
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SDPD initially said the circumstances surrounding the collision were unclear. On 06/18/2026, however, the department announced that investigators believed Cann intentionally stepped into the path of the police vehicle. Police said that conclusion was based on evidence collected during the investigation and witness statements and characterized his death as an apparent suicide. The department did not publicly release the underlying evidence or witness statements with its announcement.
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Because the publicly available evidence does not independently establish Cann's intent, the police suicide determination should remain attributed to SDPD. Cann's physical cause of death was injuries sustained when he was struck by the police vehicle.
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The collision occurred on a stretch of Linda Vista Road where pedestrian safety had been a concern for years. NBC 7 subsequently reported that a 2016 city traffic study had recommended pedestrian-safety improvements in the area. Residents and students described routinely crossing Linda Vista Road near the crash location because of the distance to marked crosswalks.
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The San Diego Police Department Traffic Unit and Collision Investigations Bureau investigated the fatal collision. SDPD said that because of the sensitive nature of the case, it would release no additional information after announcing its suicide determination.
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OFFICER BACKGROUND:
The San Diego Police Department has not publicly identified the Western Division officer who was driving the marked patrol vehicle that struck and killed Cann. No reliable information located establishes the officer's speed immediately before impact or identifies the officer by name.
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SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/usd-student-sdpd-patrol-vehicle-morena-deadly-crash/4037954/
https://www.10news.com/news/local-news/san-diego-news/pedestrian-killed-in-officer-involved-crash-in-san-diegos-morena-neighborhood
https://people.com/college-student-dies-struck-by-police-cruiser-near-campus-12001978