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Hudson Joseph Standley

Age : 59

Gender : Male

Race : White

Date : 08/31/2023

Location : Springs Road and Tregaskis Avenue

City : Vallejo

County : Solano

State : California

Agency : Vallejo Police Department

Officer(s) :Not disclosed

Cause of Death : Vehicle

Event : Bystander killed by police chase crash

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

On 08/30/2023, at approximately 5:35 p.m., Vallejo Police Department officers located a white Toyota Avalon near Tennessee Street and Tuolumne Street. Police alleged that the Avalon matched the description of a vehicle used in multiple recent armed robberies in Vallejo. Officers attempted a felony stop specifically because of the vehicle's alleged connection to those robberies. The driver continued driving away at high speed, and Vallejo police pursued.
According to police and later reporting based on dispatch traffic and witness accounts, the Avalon ignored traffic lights and stop signs while the pursuit reached speeds of approximately 90 mph in areas with 30 mph speed limits. The vehicle also traveled into opposing traffic while officers pursued.
Vallejo police reported losing sight of the Avalon approximately 1.5 miles east on Tennessee Street, around the 3300 block, and ending that portion of the pursuit. Approximately 30 seconds later, another police unit saw the Avalon traveling westbound at high speed on Springs Road near Mosswood Avenue and weaving through traffic. Officers turned around to follow it. Police said the Avalon was several blocks ahead when they saw debris and dust from a collision near Springs Road and Tregaskis Avenue.
The Avalon crashed into two uninvolved vehicles. One was a white Toyota Tundra driven by Hudson Joseph Standley, 59, who went by Joe. Standley had just dropped off his business partner and was traveling on Springs Road when the pursued Avalon crashed into the rear of his truck. Standley was killed at the scene.
The Avalon also struck another vehicle. A female passenger in the Avalon was seriously injured and transported to a hospital. Police reported recovering a loaded firearm from the Avalon. The driver got out following the collision, ran from the scene and initially escaped police.
The fatal crash was not investigated under Solano County's Officer Involved Fatal Incident Protocol. The protocol excluded deaths caused by a vehicle fleeing police, meaning the incident did not trigger the outside-agency investigation led by the Solano County District Attorney that would apply to some other law-enforcement-related fatalities.
Later reporting identified significant broader concerns about Vallejo Police Department pursuits. The Vallejo Sun found that Vallejo officers and the pursued Avalon reached approximately 90 mph in 30 mph zones during the pursuit that killed Standley. The outlet subsequently reported that Vallejo police engaged in 197 vehicle pursuits during 2023, a 33% increase over the previous year, and that the department was seeking ways to reduce pursuit-related crashes.
On 03/20/2024, more than six months after Standley's death, Vallejo police located and arrested the person they alleged had driven the Avalon. Police disclosed that the driver was a juvenile and therefore did not publicly release his identity. The arrest was made during a felony traffic stop near Ohio Street and Sutter Street. Police described him as wanted in connection with the August 30 vehicular homicide.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/driver-in-vallejo-police-chase-crashes-into-car-kills-occupant-before-escaping-police/
https://www.vallejosun.com/bystander-killed-in-crash-during-vallejo-police-pursuit/
https://www.vallejosun.com/recent-vallejo-police-chases-leave-people-injured-or-dead/
https://www.vallejosun.com/vallejo-police-pursuits-record-2023-analysis/
https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/vallejo-man-wanted-deadly-hit-and-run-armed-robberies-springs-road-tregaskis-avenue/
https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/vallejo-police-arrest-juvenile-wanted-for-august-vehicular-homicide/
https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/vallejo-police-probe-fatal-crash-city-streets-18339533.php
https://www.sfchronicle.com/crime/article/vallejo-fatal-crash-juvenile-arrested-19364959.php
https://www.ktvu.com/news/innocent-driver-killed-after-vallejo-police-pursued-suspect-vehicle-officials-say