Officers first told the media it was a low-speed, 35 mph chase in a residential neighborhood.
Evidence: In the end and without dispute, the RAV4 had hit our larger Ford Windstar with enough force to propel it some 40 feet, lifting it high enough to ricochet across the top of a chain link fence, spin, and land on its side in someone’s yard. After the Chico Enterprise-Record made a legal request for information about the pursuit, the police said the speed of the pursuit was probably 45 mph. In the police report, the girl said she was going over 65; her friends said "very fast." Witnesses reported the speed as 45 mph, 50-55 mph.
Policy dictates that "a pursuit shall be abandoned if it is traversing traffic-controlled intersections."
Evidence: Information in the police documents about this chase reveals officers chased the teen through five stop signs. The first was a one-way stop way and the remaining four were two-way signs. Thus, in all traffic-controlled intersection, the fleeing driver and police had the stop signs, while those traveling on intersecting roads, such as the Prianos, had the right of way.
Officers told the media the pursuit was necessary to recover a stolen car.
Evidence: Information in police documents proves the following: Prior to the chase, officers knew the driver's name and address and that she had taken her mother's SUV without permission.
Two more images of the ...
This crushed side is off the frame and pushed deep into the van's interior, forming a V-shape, right where Kristie was sitting on the inside of the van. The chassis is not intact.
The van's frame and supports are destroyed, with welds and rivets on the other side. The van's top is split and popped.