A San Bernardino sheriff’s deputy died during a high-speed chase with a suspected car thief. The officer’s police SUV snapped in two after crashing into a bystander vehicle and a light pole. Unfortunately, it’s just the latest instance of a pursuit-related fatality. 

A San Bernardino police officer was tragically pronounced dead after his SUV split in two during a deadly high-speed chase

A police officer with the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department died during a high-speed chase yesterday. The officer, 36-year-old Hector Cuevas, was in pursuit of a suspected car thief at the time. Tragically, Cuevas’s police SUV slammed into a bystander vehicle and then into a nearby light pole. The crash split his vehicle in half.

The chase started when sheriff’s deputies attempted to pull over a likely stolen vehicle. The driver refused to stop, prompting officers to start the high-speed chase. The sheriff’s department says the chase involved at least two police vehicles, including Cuevas’s SUV. 

First responders declared Cuevas deceased at the scene of the wreck. Moreover, the driver of the bystander vehicle sustained injuries but survived the crash. The car thief suspect, 22-year-old Ryan Turner, eventually stopped his vehicle and fled on foot. Fortunately, officers tracked Turner down and arrested him. Authorities say Turner will likely face charges of intoxicated vehicular manslaughter and evading arrest.

Officer Cuevas’s line of duty-death is the latest in a disturbing series of pursuit-related fatality data. Approximately one-third of high-speed chase situations result in a bad crash. According to police pursuit data, there were over 11,500 deaths related to high-speed chases and pursuits from 1979 to 2013.

Of those deaths, nearly 140 were police officers, per USA Today. Even more troublingly, over 5,000 pursuit-related fatalities were innocent bystanders, and 62% of high-speed chases started with a simple traffic violation, not a violent crime.