Editorial published February 2, 2002

 

Our take on the week in news
It's a MISS—The Chico Police Department needs to be more forthright with information in the case of a police pursuit that preceded a fatal crash involving a 15-year-old girl who stole a sport unity vehicle. [Later, the media discovered the—stolen vehicle—belonged to the girl's mother.]  The underage driver plowed into a family van in a residential area on East Fifth Avenue.  Kristina Priano, a 15-year-old Champion Christian School sophomore who was riding in her family's van, died a week after the crash.

Police have been sketchy with details, saying the incident is "under investigation." The public wants to know why the police were chasing a stolen car in a residential neighborhood.  If the department can state unequivocally that the pursuit stopped before the crash, then it should.  [According to the final police report, there was no attempt to terminate the pursuit.]