Fatal Car Chase Ends in Yard
By Corey Lyons and Karl Fischer
Contra Costa Newspapers
Sept. 29, 2001
ANTIOCH -- Reginald Waters opened the front door of his Gentrytown Drive home Friday afternoon on his way to fetch the mail.
Imagine his surprise to see the tail end of a police pursuit turned traffic fatality bearing down on his doorstep.
"When I came out, dude was landing in my yard," Waters said Friday evening, a crumpled wad of crime scene tape in hand.
There was a loud boom, a crushed fence and glass on Waters' roof. Hood smoking, a green Honda Civic came to rest after rolling several times across the lawn.
That's how residents of the neighborhood around Gentrytown and James Donlon Boulevard remember the 2:27 p.m. crash that followed a brief pursuit with Antioch police over a misdemeanor warrant associated with the car.
The driver of the Civic died at the scene, Antioch police Lt. Steve McConnell said. The Contra Costa Coroner's Office is withholding the name pending notification of relatives.
A passenger in the car, Jamar Walker, 25, of Pittsburg was listed in serious but stable condition at John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek.
A motorist driving a silver Chrysler, which was struck by the Civic before it careened into Waters' fence, was also transported to John Muir, but further information about her was unavailable.
Police had called off the chase one-eighth to one-quarter of a mile before the car reached the intersection, Antioch police Lt. Steve McConnell said.
But the Civic continued at speeds between 60 mph and 65 mph, blowing through a stop sign and striking another vehicle before crashing into a cement fence post.
The chase began at the intersection of James Donlon and Lone Tree Way, when an officer on patrol spotted the wanted car. The car failed to yield, McConnell said. The officer gave chase, but because the warrant was a misdemeanor and the chase was headed to a crowded area, it was called off.
McConnell said the California Highway Patrol will investigate.
The collision sent the Civic into an ornate concrete pillar at the corner of Waters' fence. Then the car smashed through the fence and some bushes. Waters said the car splattered oil across his yard as it rolled, finishing upright in front of his living room window. Toys and children's books from inside the car scattered across the lawn.
Waters said he leaned into the Civic's window and saw that the driver had been pushed into the back seat, his legs twisted, his face hidden. A male passenger was screaming. Police, guns drawn, hid behind some bushes a short distance away.
The driver said something like, "Get me out of this car," Waters said. A few moments later, the man died.
Contra Costa Newspapers
Sept. 29, 2001
ANTIOCH -- Reginald Waters opened the front door of his Gentrytown Drive home Friday afternoon on his way to fetch the mail.
Imagine his surprise to see the tail end of a police pursuit turned traffic fatality bearing down on his doorstep.
"When I came out, dude was landing in my yard," Waters said Friday evening, a crumpled wad of crime scene tape in hand.
There was a loud boom, a crushed fence and glass on Waters' roof. Hood smoking, a green Honda Civic came to rest after rolling several times across the lawn.
That's how residents of the neighborhood around Gentrytown and James Donlon Boulevard remember the 2:27 p.m. crash that followed a brief pursuit with Antioch police over a misdemeanor warrant associated with the car.
The driver of the Civic died at the scene, Antioch police Lt. Steve McConnell said. The Contra Costa Coroner's Office is withholding the name pending notification of relatives.
A passenger in the car, Jamar Walker, 25, of Pittsburg was listed in serious but stable condition at John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek.
A motorist driving a silver Chrysler, which was struck by the Civic before it careened into Waters' fence, was also transported to John Muir, but further information about her was unavailable.
Police had called off the chase one-eighth to one-quarter of a mile before the car reached the intersection, Antioch police Lt. Steve McConnell said.
But the Civic continued at speeds between 60 mph and 65 mph, blowing through a stop sign and striking another vehicle before crashing into a cement fence post.
The chase began at the intersection of James Donlon and Lone Tree Way, when an officer on patrol spotted the wanted car. The car failed to yield, McConnell said. The officer gave chase, but because the warrant was a misdemeanor and the chase was headed to a crowded area, it was called off.
McConnell said the California Highway Patrol will investigate.
The collision sent the Civic into an ornate concrete pillar at the corner of Waters' fence. Then the car smashed through the fence and some bushes. Waters said the car splattered oil across his yard as it rolled, finishing upright in front of his living room window. Toys and children's books from inside the car scattered across the lawn.
Waters said he leaned into the Civic's window and saw that the driver had been pushed into the back seat, his legs twisted, his face hidden. A male passenger was screaming. Police, guns drawn, hid behind some bushes a short distance away.
The driver said something like, "Get me out of this car," Waters said. A few moments later, the man died.
posted by Corey at 9:41 PM
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