Two people killed in Sacramento after stolen Tesla crashes into minivan
SACRAMENTO - Two people were killed and one person was injured in a crash in Sacramento on Saturday afternoon.
The Sacramento Police Department says that they were pursuing a stolen Tesla at around 2 p.m. Saturday in the Arden-Arcade area when the driver got away. The owner of the vehicle was able to track down the vehicle and relayed its location to law enforcement.
Sacramento County sheriff's deputies started following the Tesla at around 2:40 p.m. in the area of Amstrong Avenue and Von Karman Street, they say, where it crashed into a minivan in the 8400 block of Kiefer Boulevard.
According to the sheriff's department, one person inside the minivan and the driver of the Tesla were killed. A second person in the minivan was injured.
On Monday the Sacramento County Coroner's Office confirmed the passenger of the minivan who died was Mashea Jordan, 42, and the driver of the Tesla was Aphis Nash, 26.
So how do police determine when to pursue a suspect? Sergeant Amar Gandhi with the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office said it comes down to the severity of the crime and the risk to the public.
"You are going to pursue someone potentially a little bit longer if they are wanted for murder versus they just ran a stop sign," said Sgt. Gandhi.
He said the tricky part is you do not always know why someone is running from the police. That was the case on Saturday - why the suspect stole the Tesla to begin with.
"The worst case scenario is kind of what we saw that night," said Sgt. Gandhi about the crash that happened Saturday.
Sgt. Gandhi said law enforcement agencies typically have an officer, watch supervisor, and watch commander all communicating to determine what the safest approach is to catch a suspect.
"It is not just at the onset," said Sgt. Gandhi. "It is during and as the situation evolves."
