Richmond, VA
A suspect faces serious charges after leading Richmond police on a high speed chase that left one woman hospitalized with life-threatening injuries.
The suspect’s sport utility vehicle was initially stopped for driving recklessly around 5:21 p.m. at Larchmont Lane and East 37th Street. After fleeing the traffic stop, the suspect sideswiped several cars before colliding with the victim’s car at Midlothian Turnpike and East Broad Rock Road in South Richmond. The force of the collision caused the SUV to flip over, at which point officers were able to apprehend the suspect and transport him to VCU Medical Center for evaluation.
The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that authorities recovered a handgun thrown from the suspect’s vehicle during the pursuit.
According to a recent analysis conducted by USA TODAY, more than 5,000 bystanders and passengers have been killed in police car chases since 1979, with bystanders and the passengers in chased cars accounting for nearly half of those fatalities.
The USA TODAY report revealed that at least 11,506 people, including 6,300 fleeing suspects, were killed in police chases from 1979 through 2013 – most recent year for which National Highway Traffic Safety Administration records are available. However, these figures may actually understate the actual death toll, since the NHTSA relies on police reports to determine if a crash was chase-related, and some reports do not disclose whether a chase occurred.
According to a 2006 Justice Department study of police training academies, the average police trainee received 72 hours of weapons training compared to 40 hours of driving training, only a portion of which covered chases.
For those injured as a result of a police pursuit, determining liability can be particularly complex. The experienced personal injury attorneys at ReidGoodwin are here to help. Contact ReidGoodwin today to schedule a legal evaluation.