MAN DIES FLEEING POLICE.

Byline: Lee Condon Daily News Staff Writer

An 18-year-old Glendale man who tried to flee a police chase by running across the Golden State Freeway, ended up being hit and killed by a truck early Tuesday morning.

Sean Michael Beaton, a lifelong Glendale resident and the son of the owner of a local radio station, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Just before running onto the highway, Beaton had crashed his black Cadillac into a street light after leading police on a 60-mph chase along Verdugo Road and Front Street in Burbank, authorities said.

Lt. Duane Dow of the Burbank Police Department said police pulled over Beaton's car at about 1 a.m. Tuesday after receiving a complaint about a motorist in a black Cadillac who was driving up and down San Fernando Boulevard honking a horn.

When officers asked Beaton for identification, he accelerated his car, brushing a police officer, and raced off, Dow said. Police chased Beaton's car as he proceeded westbound on Verdugo Road.

Beaton turned north on Front Street, crashed into a street light and then fled on foot onto the freeway.

Ron Beaton, the owner of KIEV-AM (870), said his son had been planning to join the U.S. Army.

``Sean was at a point in his life that he was starting to find himself,'' Beaton said in a statement. ``He was doing great and was excited about his future service with the United States Army.''

Sean Beaton had attended both St. Francis and Glendale high schools. He is survived by his father, his mother, Carolyn, and three siblings, Ron Jr., Melissa and Lisa Hernandez.