SANTA ANA A man charged with hitting and killing a pedestrian as he led police on a high-speed chase pleaded guilty on Tuesday as his trial was underway.

Victor Manuel Sanchez, a 24-year-old documented gang member, was fleeing from police in a white Dodge Charger on May 30, 2013, when he hit Andrew Reisse, a 33-year-old software developer, in a crosswalk at the intersection of MacArthur Boulevard and South Flower Street, authorities said.

Sanchez pleaded guilty to second-degree murder on Tuesday, just before attorneys were expected to begin closing arguments in his trial, which began May 12, according to Senior Deputy District Attorney Mark Birney.

He faces 18 years to life in custody when he returns to court for sentencing on July 8, Birney said.

Birney said Sanchez blasted through residential areas at speeds of more than 60 mph and didn’t stop even after he broadsided a truck at Warner Avenue and continued south on Flower.

Sanchez was driving at nearly 100 mph when he slammed on the breaks and hit a second vehicle, the prosecutor said. The impact caused the Dodge Charger to spin and crash into Reisse, who was walking home after having lunch at Chipotle.

Reisse was thrown about 60 feet and died at the scene, authorities said. Reisse was a co-founder of Irvine-based Oculus Rift, a virtual reality headset created for video games.

Sanchez has a prior conviction for evading officers in an hourlong car chase that ended in Long Beach in 2008.

“What Mr. Sanchez didn’t do was learn his lesson, and it cost that man his life,” Birney said during the trial.