A six-year-old child who was in critical condition after a car he was in was struck by a man fleeing the police has died, the Hercules Police Department said on Monday.
The boy, who was struck along with his twin brother on Thursday, was in the vehicle with his mother, 31, who died at the scene.
Ralph Ellsworth White III, 20, of Vallejo, was arrested on Thursday on suspicion vehicular manslaughter, possession of a stolen vehicle and three counts of pursuit causing death or great bodily injury, according to the Hercules Police Department.
Further charges against White after the child’s death have not been released.
At 7:27 p.m., officers received information from the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office about a stolen 2021 Mazda SUV heading toward Hercules on eastbound Interstate Highway 80.
An officer with the Hercules Police Department saw the vehicle exit the highway onto northbound Willow Avenue.
Police said the driver of the Mazda began to accelerate, and the officer pursued the vehicle for a short time before the Mazda collided with a 2017 Nissan driven by the mother with her two twins inside traveling south on Willow Avenue.
The driver of the Mazda, allegedly identified as White, got out of the vehicle and ran northbound onto Parker Avenue.
Police set up a perimeter, and White was located a short time later and was taken into custody.
43 comments
How horribly sad. Throw away the key.
NO PLEA BARGAIN
SUMMARY EXECUTION.
Not much doubt what race the driver of the Mazda was….fry him.
It comes as if NYTEMUVR is saying if he was white, maybe not judge him the same way. No matter the race this person should be prosecuted to the full extend of the law, and spend the rest of his life in prison.
It could be a racist statement or it could be just an honest educated guess. If one was to offer a cash bet I wonder how many of us would bet it was someone OTB? If you keep up with local news at all, and if you could be absolutely honest…. how would you choose?
The awful truth….do we dare to be intellectually honest?
@DR. JELLYFINGER……Well I’ll be, White is Black.
Something tells me someone will blame the police and not the criminal. It’s the demoRat way.
For some reason there are more police chases ending badly lately. This one is tragic. One day there may be a better way. Maybe when more are locked away.
It was not the police chase that should be blamed, but the criminal actions of the individual breaking the law.
FPN that doesn’t bring the people back to life. I am not blaming the police but with the idiots breaking the law and killing people as they escape there has to be a better way to catch them. Stealing a car is not worth some innocent person’s life.
Does it really matter what race he was. Would you say the same if he was white, I assume your comment is meant to insinuate he was of color. Whatever color he needs to go away for life. Or you for being more lenient towards white people?
@ Hann
People have become to have a “heighten awareness “ when it comes to race due to the race hustling Democrats. In a nut shell, it’s racist when it does not work out to their benefit. Where’s the equity, diversity and inclusion representative for the NBA?
I have mixed feelings about police chases. I understand wanting to catch someone who is a criminal, but ofteh innocent people die. In this case it was the criminal that caused the death of a child. The late great talk show host Gene Burns on KGO, did several programs on his opposition to police chases, he always wondering if there were not another way to catch the criminal without dangering innocent people. Such as follow with helicopter to he runs out of gas, other ecenerios, don’t remember them all. I use to do staffing for a home care agency, we had one case, a psychiatrist who had suffered brain damage to the point where he would never practice again, what more his wife was killed, the were coming out of a movie theather in Los Altos and got hit my a police car chasing someone. Then when I was selling long term care insurance i had a client in Davies who looked into it. (he did not quality) he too was a victim of being hit by a police car chasing someone. he was not as bad off as the doctor (didn’t need homecare) he was funtional, but couldn’t work, he had gotten a settlement that were fairly comfortable, yet his life was changed forever, for the worse.
Hanne,
Think of the long-term consequences of criminals knowing that all they had to do was take off and the police weren’t allowed to chase them. How many more people would be injured or killed by idiots doing whatever they want, then taking off at high speed because they knew they were guaranteed not to be pursued?
There it is. The blame the police post that we all knew would pop up.
Don’t chase perpetrators. Let them go so that they can rob, kill, rape, and terrorize with impunity. Is that how they do it in Denmark?
This tragedy would never have happened if Mr. White had not committed (allegedly) a crime. Then Mr. White had another opportunity to not kill this poor child, but instead of complying with the police, he chose to run. Mr. White deserves is day in court. If found guilty, he should rot in jail for a very, very long time.
Shame on you, Hanne for blaming the police and not the driver. But at least you didn’t blame the kid.
Automatic Death penalty for anyone killing innocent people while trying to evade police officers. That’s it.
I certainly agree with you that the criminal is ultimately at fault. I also agree he should rot in jail.
Mr, Burns NEVER suggested that the criminal should get away, neither do I. Read my comments carefully. When I lived in Denmark we didn’t have police chase, or if we did very few, we did not have much crime. Bikes being stolen, very few murders 2 or 3 a year, definitely not much violent crime.
Thanks for clearing that up Hanne. I read your comments carefully but you never stated your position in that stream of consciousness that you posted.
Some things I wish you would consider before posting such drivel. You don’t live in Denmark anymore. The world and it’s people have changed in many ways since you lived in Denmark. Denmark has no relevance to 99.99+% of the stories on this blog.
Now please accept my apology for jumping down your throat. It sure sounded like you were siding with criminals.
“There’s my argument, restrict immigration!”
Groucho Marx 1931
@professor, Apology accepted. I brought up Denmark, because you asked if that is how we do it in Denmark. Read Ricardo and Annon’s comments, they make a lot of sense.
Dr. J, I have a feeling that comment was directed at me. However, I did not immigrate in the way most people do. I was not fed up with living in Denmark, I merely wanted to see more of the world and improve my English, thus I applied for a position as an au pair. I couldn’t come on a visitors visa, and was told I had to apply for a green card while in Denmark, which I did. I had planned to staying one year. However, after a year in Westport Ct, I had too much fun, plenty of friends etc. so I stayed for almost another year. I went back to Denmark in Oct. 68 with the idea of perhaps moving back, despite I had nice parents, still friends in Denmark, I missed my Westport, had a boyfriend back there, so I came back and were very happy to be back. Have been here ever since, and although at times I have missed Denmark, never really regretted making that decision.
I understand that concern, but there is also the concern for innocent people getting killed. If you were the doctor with brain damage and dead wife, how would you feel if the police were chasing a car thief. I think it depends on the crime that was committed. I’m not for these criminals getting away, but when I listened to Gene Burns (and he was very much for law and order) he was always wondering if there were other ways to catch the person, they did not put the innocent public at risk. It was years ago when Gene Burns were on KGO I don’t remember all his ideas, but he was a very intelligent man, and whenever he presented something it was well thought out. In this case the child that died were hit by the criminal, in the 2 case I talked about they were hit by a police car.
” If you were the doctor with brain damage and dead wife, how would you feel if the police were chasing a car thief.(?)”
I would hope that they catch the SOB and throw away the keys. I would also think that there would be no chase if the suspect didn’t commit the crime. I would also think that there would be no chase if the suspect submitted to a lawfully conducted order from the police (lights and/or siren qualifies) to stop and pull over.
I sure as hell would not blame the cops for helping keep law and order, EVEN IF I WAS THE ONE WHO WAS HIT!!!
Remember, there would be no death without a chase, no chase without the perp fleeing, and no reason for the police to be called without a suspected crime. The blame lies 100% with the suspect.
Yes, the blame lies with the suspect, but you still have innocent people dying. I would even be okay with police shooting at the suspects car to stop him. I don’t believe you get the death penalty for stealing cars, but if someone ended up being killed because of their unlawful action I would not feel bad.
Like Gene Burns, you ran against a wall when hoping for another way to catch perps
starting a chase after stealing a car. You notice that he immediately started running
after the accident, of course, he didn’t stop to assist. He thought he could get away.
If you want to embolden scum like, then call off the police and watch GTAs go through
the roof.
Need more prisons, less coddling or it will continue to get worse.
Hanne is not that far out. This is the third innocent person killed in a police chase around our area in a couple of weeks. Trying to think of a better way is not a ridiculous thing. I don’t blame the police I blame the courts that allow criminals to survive to commit another crime another day. Knowing that stealing a car or robbing a liquor store is going to put you away for a long time may keep you from doing what you are thinking about. Then you have to think is chasing a car thief worth an innocent life. It is just a big problem to solve.
Ricardo, Seems we are more are pretty much on the same page on this. Thinking of a better way was exactly the question Gene Burns posted, that is the question I pose and sounds like you do too. Whenever Gene Burns brought up this subject he got a lot of opposition as I do here, of course he was much better at arguing his point than I am, giving he was a talk show host and also a very intelligent man. For the most part his arguments made sense. Would we all like these people to be locked away and never have the chance to break the law again, of course. Unfortunately the justice system is not perfect, I agree that probably to many criminals get a second chance. I was all for the recalling of Chesy Boudin the DA in San Francisco, he was much too lenient, but that is a discussing for another time.
@HANNE JEPPESEN….You couldn’t be more offtrack, your assumptions are bogus.
Those of you who are upset at my post is not reading it correctly. I never suggested the criminals should get away. I start out by saying I have mixed feelings about it. I do not blame the police, obviously the criminals is the one at fault. However, shouldn’t it depend on the crime? Is it really worth getting innocent people killed over a stolen car? A mass murder or someone that is an immediate threath to the public safety is another matter. I go back to Gene Burns premise, isn’t there another way to stop these thugs without put innocent people in harms way. Certainly it worth contemplating, rather than a knee jerk reaction that I blame the police.
NYTEMUVR, I’m not making assumptions, I’m merely posing a question.
Only caring about ones own self, means there is little to no empathy for your fellow man.
Why is it the innocent always die and the assailant is fine. He killed the mother who was pronounced dead at the scene and one of her children but he was able to get out of the vehicle and run? Why was he not severely injured. It’s unfair.
Very sad. She was a very caring mother. Kids were polite well cared for. She took them to the park all the time. Why is it the good ones get the short end of the stick.
The police academy is accepting new recruits Hanne. Sign up and shows us all how it’s done.
I never gave it much thought until I heard Gene Burns bringing it up, after 2 innocent people were killed during a police chase. He posed a lot of questions that was worth contemplating, without making excuses for the criminal. Here’s another question, how does the driver of the police car that kills someone innocent feel, wouldn’t they most likely suffer some PSTD? Even if they were in the right, they are likely to experience some kind of trauma afterwards. Read my post I never claimed that I had the answer.
Victims family blames police.
https://tinyurl.com/y98whyxp
Just cantstress this enough, get rid of Leo’s body cameras let them get back to doing business and offing these slime balls instead of arresting them and hauling them in. It’s time to start taking out the trash once again.
I %100 blame the police. So this guy stole a car, yeah it is a big deal, it’s wrong, it’s really messed up for the persons car they stole, but is it really that serious to put so many people in danger over a stolen car?? NO IT IS NOT. The guy was not wanted for murder, rape, he did not have a kidnapped kid in the car so WHY chase him and continue to chase him when you see that he is going to do everything in his power to get away. Yes it is the guys fault who stole the car and he needs to go to jail for life, however the only thing these scumbags are thinking about is not going to jail. The police need to call that off as soon as they make the first unsafe decision. I know if that was my car that was stolen I would NOT want the police chasing them. That car is not worth 2 lives that are forever lost. That is what insurance is for. If you do not have insurance it is still not worth anyone’s life. 2 people lost their life and so many peoples life’s are forever ruined over a stolen car. So YES I blame the police. i know people are going to reply to this comment with the blah blah blah. Just look at it like this. Is a car worth anyone of your family members life… keep it real.. HELL NO. Police need to call it off at the FIRST sign that they are going to do anything at any cost to get away. Like is said a stolen car is not that serious…
Troll much????
A stolen car is serious but not worth an innocent life.
I 100% blame the thug. We used to hang horse thieves, and that is still an appropriate punishment.
“Those of you who are all for this, how would you feel if it was your child or family member killed because of a stolen car?”
Maybe you should ask Mr. White this question. He obviously didn’t think about anybody but himself before he crashed his getaway car.
But you asked us how we would feel if our loved ones were hit. I would feel that the suspect should have stopped long before someone got killed. And thank God they got that A-hole off the street so that he can’t steal some other innocent’s car and cause another fatality. And that the SOB needs a lifetime of showers with Bubba, slippery soap and all.
You remind me of people that blame a police sniper for ending a hostage situation. “Why did they kill the bad guy? Why not just shoot the gun out of his hands or hit him in the leg?” Because stuff happens when criminals commit crimes. Stop equivocating.
The United States Department of Justice collects statistics on this exact scenario, and recommended in 1990 that police departments consider revising pursuit policies because of the loss of life associated with pursuits. Catch a driver of a reported stolen vehicle vs losing a mother, possibly a child, the injury to the other child, the damage to both vehicles, and associated property damage.
No brainer to me, we need a better system, and better judgement. The cop, even though he has “immunity,” does have some blame.
https://www.ojp.gov/pdfiles1/Digitization/122025NCJRS.pdf
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