19-year-old Vermont Police Officer dies in crash while chasing burglary suspect, initial charges filed
RUTLAND, Vt. — Initial charges have been filed against the man responsible for killing a teenage Vermont police officer and injuring two others during a high-speed chase on Friday.
Rutland City Police Officer Jessica Ebbighausen, 19, was killed on Friday afternoon. The crash happened as police chased a vehicle driven by Tate Rheaume, 20, a suspect in an attempted break-in at a house, state police said.
Evidence indicates that Rheaume crossed the centerline and collided head-on with the Ebbighausen's cruiser, police said. The suspect's truck also hit another police cruiser.
Ebbighausen was pronounced dead at the scene. Two other officers and Rheaume were taken to Rutland Regional Medical Center for what are believed to be non-life-threatening injuries, police said. Rheaume was transferred to the University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington.
Rheaume now faces charges of grossly negligent operation of a motor vehicle with death resulting, and attempting to elude with death resulting according to Vermont State Police. He was placed into custody on a $500,000 bail while at the University of Vermont Medical Center for treatment of injuries sustained during the crash.
He is expected to be arraigned at 12:30 p.m. on Monday in the Criminal Division of the Vermont Superior Court in Rutland.
The incident is still under investigation by state police and additional charges against Rheaume are possible.
The Vermont Medical Examiner's Office also performed an autopsy on Ebbighausen on Saturday determining her cause of death as blunt force trauma. The manner of her death has yet to be announced.
The two other officers involved in the crash, Richard Caravaggio and Kelsey Parker, were both released from the hospital.
An investigation by Vermont State Police revealed that Officer Ebbighausen and Officer Carvaggio were both not wearing seatbelts at the time of the crash.
Ebbighausen, of Ira, Vermont, started working with the Rutland Police Department in May as a part-time officer, state police said. She was scheduled to start training in August at the Vermont Police Academy to become a full-time officer, police said.
"We're hurting right now," said Rutland City Police Chief Brian Kilcullen on Friday as he asked for community support, according to the Rutland Herald.
Ebbighausen had wanted to be a police officer since she was 9 years old, Kilcullen said. She did an internship with the police department during high school, he said.
"She always had a smile on her face," Kilcullen said. "We were looking forward to having her as part of our family."
The department had recently changed its policies to discourage high-speed pursuits, he said, but did not discuss the changes further on Friday, the newspaper reported.
"I'm here today to mourn, really, the loss of a family member," he said. "The state police are conducting the investigation. At some point, we'll review everything."
Before Ebbighausen's death, 28 Vermont officers had died in the line of duty, including 2 in vehicle pursuits, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page, which tracks law enforcement deaths. Of those Vermont officers whose ages are listed, she was by far the youngest.
