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Jabranden Embry Brooks

Age : 14

Gender : Male

Race : Black

Date : 01/25/2026

Location : Highway 178 near Baker Street overpass

City : Bakersfield

County : Kern

State : California

Agency : Bakersfield Police Department

Officer(s) :Unknown

Cause of Death : Vehicle

Event : Driver killed by police chase crash

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

On 01/25/2026 at approximately 5:17 p.m., Bakersfield Police Department officers located a vehicle previously reported stolen from a parking lot near the Target at Valley Plaza in Bakersfield. Police attempted a traffic stop on the vehicle, which was traveling at high speed, and officers engaged in a pursuit. The pursuit continued onto eastbound Highway 178. For safety reasons, law enforcement terminated the pursuit once the vehicle was reaching unsafe speeds. Shortly thereafter, the vehicle collided with a guardrail and then a concrete bridge abutment on Highway 178 west of the Baker Street overpass. The collision caused the vehicle to overturn, ejecting the three juvenile occupants. Emergency responders transported all three juveniles to Kern Medical. One juvenile, identified by the Kern County Coroner’s Office as 14-year-old Jabranden Embry Brooks of Bakersfield, died from injuries sustained in the crash. Two other juveniles were hospitalized with injuries. The Bakersfield Police Department is investigating the incident under its critical incident policy, and the officers involved in the pursuit have been placed on routine administrative leave.
 

SOURCE LINKS :

https://bakersfieldnow.com/news/local/bpd-stolen-vehicle-pursuit-ends-in-crash-on-hwy-178-severely-injuring-three-juveniles-bakersfield-kern-county-california
https://www.turnto23.com/news/in-your-neighborhood/bakersfield/minor-dies-in-highway-178-crash-after-bakersfield-police-pursuit