Search fatalities

Name Not Disclosed

Age : 74

Gender : Female

Race : Unknown

Date : 06/27/2022

Location : Belt Line Road and Bowser Road

City : Richardson

County : Dallas

State : Texas

Agency : Richardson Police Department

Officer(s) :Not Disclosed

Cause of Death : Vehicle

Event : Bystander killed by police chase crash

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

REASON FOR CHASE: Richardson police pursued a black 2009 Cadillac occupied by four juveniles after the vehicle accelerated away from an officer. The available public reporting indicates the encounter began with traffic-related conduct rather than a violent felony. The 16-year-old driver continued at high speed through Richardson before entering the intersection of Belt Line Road and Bowser Road against a red light.
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NARRATIVE:
On 06/27/2022, an unidentified 74-year-old woman was killed when a black 2009 Cadillac being pursued by the Richardson Police Department ran a red light and crashed into the minivan she was driving at Belt Line Road and Bowser Road in Richardson.
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The Cadillac was occupied by four juveniles. A Richardson police officer began following the vehicle after observing traffic-related conduct. The Cadillac accelerated away, and police pursued it through Richardson.
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At approximately 5:44 p.m., the 16-year-old driver of the Cadillac approached the intersection of Belt Line Road and Bowser Road at high speed and entered against a red traffic signal.
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The Cadillac struck the woman's minivan. The impact pushed her vehicle into a third vehicle. Eight people were involved in the three-vehicle collision.
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The 74-year-old woman suffered critical injuries and was transported to a hospital, where she died later that evening. The other people involved survived.
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The fatal pursuit subsequently prompted a significant change in Richardson Police Department policy. Four days after the crash, Police Chief Gary Tittle issued a revised pursuit policy prohibiting officers from initiating or continuing vehicle pursuits based solely on traffic violations or other offenses that did not involve a violent felony. Later reporting specifically connected the policy revision to the woman's death.
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The available public reporting does not provide a reliable maximum pursuit speed, total distance or duration. It also does not publicly identify the 74-year-old woman or the Richardson officer who initiated the pursuit.
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OFFICER BACKGROUND:
The Richardson Police Department did not publicly identify the officer who initiated or participated in the pursuit in the verified sources located. Richardson Police Chief Gary Tittle subsequently revised the department's pursuit policy in response to the fatal crash, restricting pursuits involving traffic violations and other nonviolent offenses.
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SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.dallasnews.com/news/watchdog/2022/11/04/richardson-police-change-pursuit-policy-in-wake-of-womans-death-during-car-chase/
https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1833414/m1/2/