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Elizabeth Anderson

Age : 62

Gender : Female

Race : White

Date : 07/30/2021

Location : Beeline Highway and PGA Boulevard

City : Palm Beach Gardens

County : Palm Beach

State : Florida

Agency : West Palm Beach Police Department

Officer(s) :Neil Sterk; Casey Stripling; Pierre Etienne

Cause of Death : Vehicle

Event : Passenger killed by police chase crash

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

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REASON FOR POLICE CHASE:
Stolen vehicle. West Palm Beach Police Department GHOST officers attempted to stop a stolen Nissan Rogue driven by 17-year-old Christopher Garrett Jr. near Beeline Highway and Jog Road. Officers Neil Sterk and Casey Stripling pursued when Garrett continued north. Anderson had no connection to the stolen vehicle, its occupants or the police pursuit.
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EVENT NARRATIVE:
On 07/30/2021, 62-year-old Elizabeth “Beth” Anderson was killed when a stolen Nissan Rogue that West Palm Beach police had pursued crashed into her Nissan Xterra at Beeline Highway and PGA Boulevard. Anderson was an uninvolved motorist. Her passenger, 65-year-old George Nienhouse, and two teenage passengers in the pursued Nissan, Alexia Simpson and Jay’Oni Leonard, were also killed.
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Sterk and Stripling attempted to stop the Nissan near Beeline Highway and Jog Road and pursued Garrett north. Detective Pierre Etienne followed farther behind. The officers knew the Nissan had been reported stolen and had received information concerning the teenagers traveling in it.
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Sterk and Stripling later reported terminating the pursuit at Northlake Boulevard at approximately 4:05 p.m., about 3½ miles before the fatal collision. Later-released body-camera footage complicated that account because Stripling told another officer at the crash scene that they had followed the Nissan farther north to make sure it left the area.
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At approximately 4:09 p.m., Garrett approached PGA Boulevard at approximately 100 mph or more and entered the intersection against a red traffic signal. Anderson was driving a 2010 Nissan Xterra through the intersection when Garrett's Nissan struck its left side.
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The violent impact caused Anderson to lose control of the Xterra and ejected her. Anderson and Nienhouse were pronounced dead at the scene.
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No PIT/TVI maneuver, stop sticks, roadblock or police-vehicle collision with Garrett's Nissan was identified. Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office investigators concluded that the formal police pursuit had ended at Northlake Boulevard before the crash, although subsequent body-camera evidence raised questions about whether the officers continued following the Nissan afterward.
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Beth Anderson was not simply an anonymous motorist caught in the path of the pursuit. She had worked for the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office for 25 years as a warrant specialist and had recently entered the agency's Deferred Retirement Option Program. Her death therefore struck the same sheriff's office that was tasked with investigating the fatal collision.
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Coworkers remembered Anderson for an unusually cheerful personality. She loved music and karaoke and was known around PBSO for giving coworkers nicknames and doing small things to brighten their days. A memorial published by the Palm Beach County Police Benevolent Association described her as someone whose happiness and warmth were immediately recognizable to the people who worked with her.
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Anderson was also the mother of WPTV assistant chief engineer Tom Anderson. Her death therefore affected both the Palm Beach County law-enforcement community in which she had spent a quarter-century working and the local television station whose staff subsequently reported on the crash.
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Garrett was prosecuted as an adult. He ultimately pleaded guilty to four counts of vehicular homicide and one count of grand theft. On 05/12/2022, a judge sentenced him to 15 years in prison after previously rejecting a proposed 10-year plea agreement as too lenient given the four deaths.
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OFFICER BACKGROUND:
West Palm Beach GHOST officers Neil Sterk and Casey Stripling conducted the pursuit, with Detective Pierre Etienne following behind. Subsequent investigative reporting found that GHOST operated as a specialized unit using unmarked vehicles and a separate radio channel but lacked written unit-specific objectives, training manuals and policies.
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Etienne subsequently became involved in the separate 07/30/2024 West Palm Beach pursuit that killed Marcia Pochette and her pregnant daughter Jenice Woods and later resulted in criminal charges against Etienne and other officers. Those allegations concern the later case and are not findings concerning Anderson's death.
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DISPOSITION:
Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office investigators concluded that the formal pursuit ended at Northlake Boulevard approximately 3½ miles before Anderson was killed. No law-enforcement officer was criminally charged in connection with the 2021 pursuit. Subsequent body-camera evidence raised questions about whether the GHOST officers continued following Garrett farther north after their reported termination point. Garrett received a 15-year prison sentence for four counts of vehicular homicide and grand theft.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/regional/florida/teen-charged-speeding-crash-killed-4/67-79b998ee-173e-4255-905f-73e6fa879fb0
https://www.wpbf.com/article/deadly-crash-shuts-down-beeline-highway-near-pga-boulevard/37184576
https://www.wptv.com/news/region-c-palm-beach-county/elizabeth-anderson-pbso-employee-killed-in-crash
https://www.pbcpba.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/FLC_SUMMER21.pdf
https://www.wlrn.org/wlrn-investigations/2026-01-16/revealed-cops-in-south-florida-elite-ghost-unit-left-a-trail-of-red-flags-before-deadly-chase
https://www.wptv.com/news/crime/christopher-garrett-jr-sentenced-to-15-years-in-prison-for-fatal-beeline-highway-crash