Names of the innocent & officers killed in vehicular police pursuit & police response call crashes are in date order:
More than 200 officers killed from 1982-2009. Today, these crashes kill at least 1 officer every six weeks. Figures are from a voluntary tracking system by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and do not include the estimated additional 30 percent that are undocumented because reporting is not mandatory.
Throughout the United States, and especially in California, the number of children, spouses, parents, siblings and family members killed and injured in police chases continues to climb with no promise of action.
January 22, 2002—One minute, Kristie Priano was a 15-year-old honor student laughing with her brother in the back of the family minivan on the way to her high school basketball game. The next, she was one of hundreds who die each year across the nation in police pursuits. More than a third are innocent bystanders—just like Kristie.
The following events changed the Priano family forever: The Priano family was driving down a residential street at 6 o’clock in the evening. Their destination? Kristie’s high school basketball game. She was dressed in her uniform; ready to play. At the same time, the police were chasing a teenage girl. Prior to the chase, the police knew her name, where she lived and that she was driving her mom's car without permission.
The Chico police press release states the pursuit was initiated for a stolen car. A review of the police report indicates the teen was not speeding and was not running stop signs until the police were chasing her. The chase continued with five stop signs being ignored (a violation of the Chico police pursuit policy). At the intersection of the fifth stop sign, the teen T-boned the Prianos' van as they drove on an intersecting street with the right of way.
Kristie's brain stem was crushed and swelling caused her brain to rupture, leading to her death. The Prianos soon learned the teen was not arrested on the night of the chase. She went home with her mother.
Some of this copy was taken from an AP Wire Service news story.
