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Donald Childers

Age : 67

Gender : Male

Race : Unknown

Date : 07/28/2022

Location : State Route 90 and Whetstone Commerce Drive / Village Loop

City : Benson

County : Cochise

State : Arizona

Agency : Cochise County Sheriff's Office; United States Border Patrol; Benson Police Department

Officer(s) :Not Disclosed

Cause of Death : Vehicle

Event : Passenger killed by police chase crash

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

REASON FOR CHASE: A Cochise County Sheriff's Office deputy attempted to stop the vehicle after observing a temporary license plate near Tombstone and McNeal. The driver continued away. The deputy pursued the vehicle but police alleged the initial pursuit was discontinued because of the driver's erratic driving. A countywide bulletin was issued, and U.S. Border Patrol agents later located the vehicle and resumed the pursuit.
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NARRATIVE:
On 07/28/2022, 67-year-old Donald Childers of Tucson was killed while riding as the front-seat passenger in a vehicle that crashed during a multi-agency police pursuit in Cochise County, Arizona.
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At approximately 1:09 p.m., a Cochise County sheriff's deputy attempted to stop the vehicle in the Tombstone-McNeal area after observing a temporary license plate. The driver continued away, and the deputy pursued the vehicle.
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Police alleged the deputy subsequently discontinued the pursuit because of the driver's erratic driving. Authorities issued a countywide bulletin seeking the vehicle.
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Later that afternoon, U.S. Border Patrol agents located the vehicle traveling on State Route 90. Agents attempted to stop it and deployed a vehicle immobilization device, but the driver continued north at high speed.
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As the vehicle approached Benson, a supervisory Border Patrol agent ordered the pursuit terminated at approximately 3:47 p.m. because of the danger associated with continuing into a more populated area.
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Shortly afterward, an unmarked Benson Police Department vehicle activated its emergency lights in an attempt to stop the vehicle. The Border Patrol agent also reactivated his emergency equipment.
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Almost simultaneously, the fleeing vehicle entered the area of State Route 90 and Whetstone Commerce Drive/Village Loop and collided with a GMC Yukon.
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Childers, who was riding in the front passenger seat, sustained fatal injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene.
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The driver of the fleeing vehicle was critically injured and airlifted to a Tucson hospital. Two additional passengers suffered injuries described as minor. The occupants of the GMC Yukon survived.
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The Arizona Department of Public Safety investigated the fatal collision. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations also investigated the circumstances surrounding the vehicle and its occupants.
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U.S. Customs and Border Protection's Office of Professional Responsibility reviewed the Border Patrol involvement, and the incident was referred to the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General.
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The pursuit involved separate law-enforcement encounters over approximately two and a half hours, beginning with the Cochise County Sheriff's Office attempted stop around 1:09 p.m. and ending with the fatal crash shortly after the Border Patrol pursuit was ordered terminated at approximately 3:47 p.m. The available records do not establish a reliable maximum pursuit speed.
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OFFICER BACKGROUND:
The Cochise County Sheriff's Office did not publicly identify the deputy who initiated the first pursuit. U.S. Border Patrol did not publicly identify the agents involved in the later pursuit, and the Benson Police Department did not publicly identify the officer who attempted the final traffic stop.
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SOURCE LINKS :

https://gilavalleycentral.net/man-dies-in-traffic-accident-after-evading-sheriff-u-s-border-patrol/
https://www.kold.com/2022/07/29/man-dies-after-car-carrying-undocumented-immigrants-crashes/
https://borderoversight.org/sector/tucson/?accountability=shared-with-dhs-oig
https://www.aclutx.org/sites/default/files/field_documents/cbp_fatal_encounters_details_-_07012023_0.pdf