Amid ongoing debate about the danger of high speed police chases, the California Highway Patrol said one man died and eight other people were injured as CHP officers pursued a driver through San Bernardino Friday.
The pursuit, which culminated in a four-way fatal crash on Mt. Vernon Ave., took the life of Marvin Cavil Shelton, 42, of San Bernardino, police said.
CHP officer Daniel Hesser said in a press release that the incident started when officers tried to pull over a driver – later identified as Shelton - for a traffic violation.
He fled in a white Honda Civic, the press release said, and CHP officers pursued him for two minutes at speeds of up to 80 miles per hour through city streets.
Shelton was pronounced dead at the scene and eight others were taken to local hospitals.
The deaths and injuries of drivers and bystanders in police pursuits has long been a contentious issue. Many police departments have adopted policies discouraging the practice.
But an organization founded by the family member of a California teen who was killed after her family minivan was broadsided during such a chase says about 30 people are killed in high speed chases every six weeks in the United States.
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The organization’s website, kristieslaw.org., lists obituaries for bystanders and others killed as the result of high speed chases throughout the nation.
It was founded by the family of Kristie Priano, who was killed in 2002 as police chased another teen through her Chico neighborhood.
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