A Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office patrol car was pursuing a suspected stolen vehicle when the suspect struck two other vehicles on the morning of Wednesday, January 10th in Sacramento’s Ben Ali neighborhood.
At 8:30 AM on Wednesday, the Sacramento Sheriff’s Office patrol car witnessed a vehicle crash into two other vehicles at the intersection of Macaroni Avenue and Connie Drive. The pursuit was reportedly initiated because officers suspected the vehicle may have been stolen.
Altogether, three vehicles were involved in the incident, which occurred mere feet away from the on-ramp to Capitol City Highway according to Capt. Justin Sylvia, a spokesman for the Sacramento Fire Department.
The vehicle in question was spotted by a K-9 unit in Arden Arcade near Bell Street and El Camino Avenue, according to the Sacramento Sheriff’s Office spokesman Sgt. Amar Gandhi. The chase occurred for an unspecified amount of time, but sometime after the pursuit was initiated the suspect collided with two civilian vehicles in the Ben Ali neighborhood.
Reports say that a total of 6 people were injured in the crash. Three individuals were taken to the hospital in critical condition, including the suspect who was arrested concerning the incident. Three other people injured by the crash declined to be taken to the hospital at the scene.
It is expected that the suspect will be booked into jail after their injuries are treated. There was only one arrest as a result of the incident.
While the incident was being investigated, the Sacramento Police Department closed the eastbound off-ramp to Kenwood Street. Thirty minutes later they reopened access to the off-ramp. California Highway Patrol also closed off westbound access to Macaroni Avenue while the incident was ongoing, which has since been reopened.
Sacramento has a high rate of law enforcement-related vehicle pursuits compared to other California cities. Between the years of 2018 and 2021, 725 chases were initiated by police in Sacramento. Sixty-nine of those pursuits resulted in at least one injury, the highest rate in California’s 10 largest cities.
According to an investigation from the Sacramento Bee, the Sacramento Police Department initiated chases 10 times out of every 1000 reported violent or property crimes on average. This number is also the highest rate for all 10 of California’s largest cities.
Sacramento doesn’t define what warrants, or doesn’t warrant, a police pursuit as many other California towns do. Sacramento police officers also do not have to receive a supervisor’s approval before beginning a pursuit. The decision is left to the officer’s discretion.