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Tishara Pugh

Age : 36

Gender : Female

Race : Black

Date : 10/18/2021

Location : Seward Street and Whittlesey Street

City : Rochester

County : Monroe

State : New York

Agency : Rochester Police Department

Officer(s) :Timothy Luety

Cause of Death : Vehicle

Event : Bystander killed by police chase crash

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

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OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY:
On 10/17/2021, Rochester Police Officer Timothy Luety encountered a stolen vehicle on Bartlett Street near Jefferson Avenue. Police maintained that Luety did not activate his emergency lights or siren and did not initiate an official pursuit. The stolen vehicle nevertheless accelerated away immediately after the police encounter and traveled only a short distance before the fatal collision.
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At Seward Street and Whittlesey Street, the fleeing vehicle struck a car driven by 36-year-old Tishara Pugh. Police later determined that the fleeing vehicle was traveling at least 80 mph. The impact propelled Pugh's vehicle approximately 100 feet down Whittlesey Street, where it struck a utility pole and a garage; police described the collision as so violent that the engine compartment was torn from Pugh's vehicle.
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Pugh and a male passenger who lived with her were found unconscious. Both were transported to the hospital with life-threatening injuries. Pugh died shortly afterward, while the passenger remained hospitalized in critical condition. Four people were in the fleeing vehicle; two were ejected during the crash and all four were ultimately hospitalized or taken into custody.
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Pugh was a 36-year-old Rochester mother of five whose children ranged in age from 13 years to just 10 months. Neighbors remembered her as kind, thoughtful and a good mother, while her mother, Gloria Pugh, described her as a devoted parent who loved and enjoyed her children. Gloria Pugh also disclosed that Tishara was pregnant again when she was killed.
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Her mother described the devastating task of telling the five children that their mother was dead and said the children initially asked questions before becoming quiet and simply watching and observing what was happening around them. The family said they were holding one another up as they prepared to bury Tishara.
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EYEWITNESS OR FAMILY STATEMENTS:
Neighbor Bruce Register was inside his home with his 7-year-old son when he heard what sounded like an explosion. Register ran outside and attempted to help the people in the wreckage. Neighbor Gwendolyn Hymes described the death as senseless after seeing the destruction scattered across the neighborhood.
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DISPOSITION:
Police arrested 20-year-old Taj Isaish-Joshua McMillan-Harris four days after the crash. He was initially charged with second-degree manslaughter and four counts of second-degree assault. A Monroe County grand jury subsequently indicted him on second-degree manslaughter, three counts of second-degree assault and additional charges connected with the crash and leaving the scene.
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Officer Luety was not criminally charged for the officer's role in the police encounter that immediately preceded the fatal crash despite the fact that he had decided to conduct his own unpermitted high-speed pursuit without lights or sirens.
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OFFICER BACKGROUND:
Officer Timothy Luety was the Rochester Police officer involved in the encounter with the stolen vehicle immediately before it accelerated away and killed Pugh. Although initial news coverage did not identify him, Pugh's family subsequently named Luety, the Rochester Police Department and the City of Rochester as defendants in civil litigation arising from her death.
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LITIGATION:
On 08/11/2023, Gloria Pugh, individually, as administrator of Tishara Pugh's estate and as guardian of Tishara's five minor children, filed a civil lawsuit in New York Supreme Court, Monroe County. The defendants included the City of Rochester, Rochester Police Department, Officer Timothy Luety, Taj I-J McMillan-Harris and Lawrence W. Smith. The family was represented by attorneys including the William Mattar law firm.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/2021/10/18/rochester-police-involved-fatal-crash-stolen-vehicle/84567912/
https://www.whec.com/rochester-ny-news/stolen-vehicle-crash-rochester-woman-killed-police-not-pursuing/6276372/
https://www.rochesterfirst.com/news/local-news/fatal-crash-involving-stolen-vehicle-rochester-police-investigation/
https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/rochester/public-safety/2021/10/18/rpd--1-dead--1-in-critical-condition-after-crash-involving-stolen-car
https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/rochester/public-safety/2021/10/19/rochester-police-release-name-of-mother-of-5-killed-in-crash-involving-stolen-car
https://www.whec.com/archive/mother-of-five-identified-as-victim-of-sundays-deadly-crash-in-rochester/
https://www.whec.com/archive/family-remembers-mother-of-5-killed-in-crash-sunday/
https://www.whec.com/archive/man-charged-in-crash-that-killed-mother-of-5-sunday/
https://www.whec.com/archive/rochester-man-indicted-on-manslaughter-charge-in-crash-that-killed-mother-of-5/
https://trellis.law/doc/174578832/summons-complaint-redacted-per-22-nycrr-202-5-e