RIVERSIDE: Woman leaps from moving vehicle during wild pursuit
RIVERSIDE – A man driving a stolen Mercedes Benz was arrested after he led officers on a wild pursuit Tuesday, Jan. 17. The pursuit began in the area of Lincoln Avenue and Madison Street in Riverside and ended on the 91 Freeway, just west of 14th Street.
A woman who jumped from the moving car during the pursuit was transported to a hospital. William Hayes photo
During the pursuit a woman, who was “an unwilling passenger” according to police officials, leaped from the stolen vehicle while it was still moving.
The woman, who has not been publicly identified, sustained minor injuries and was transported to an area hospital for further evaluation and treatment.
As the pursuit continued, the suspect also tried to ram a marked patrol vehicle and later crashed into a concrete barrier and then another car.
After the conclusion of the pursuit, Riverside police officers arrested Shane Bradley Burns, 21, of Riverside. Including his warrants, he was booked into jail for 10 felony charges and three misdemeanors.
Several of Burns’ charges related to today’s pursuit included suspicion of auto theft, assault with a deadly weapon against peace officers, kidnapping, and recklessly evading arrest.
The stolen SUV sustained moderate damage and was towed from the scene. William Hayes photo
The incident began about 2:30 p.m., after City of Riverside police officers assigned to the department’s METRO/SWAT Team saw a vehicle commit several vehicle code violations. Officers also later learned the vehicle the suspect was driving had been reported stolen.
Based on the vehicle code violations, officers attempted to conduct a traffic enforcement stop in the area of Lincoln Avenue and Madison Street.
Burns refused to yield and accelerated away from the officers, at which time they initiated a vehicle pursuit.
During the pursuit, Burns drove in an extremely reckless manner without regard for the safety of other citizens or pursuing officers.
At one point during the pursuit one of two female passengers opened her door and jumped out of the moving vehicle in a desperate attempt to get away from Burns.
The driver of the stolen SUV continued driving even after his rear tire shredded and came off. William Hayes photo
As Burns continued to flee along city and county streets, he drove his stolen vehicle directly towards one of the pursuing police vehicles. Burns nearly smashed into the patrol vehicle, but the officer managed to swerve out of the path of the oncoming SUV.
Burns eventually fled onto the westbound 91 Freeway; where the pursuit continued until the stolen vehicle blew a rear tire. Despite his tire shredding off, Burns continued to flee until the drivers-side, rear-tire came off completely and Burns was driving on the SUV’s rim.
As Burns was approaching 14th Street he lost control of the vehicle, hit a retaining wall, then crashed into another motorist. After the second crash, the stolen SUV became disabled and Burns eventually came to a stop along the right shoulder of the freeway, just west of 14th Street.
Numerous Riverside PD and California Highway Patrol officers who had been involved in or following near the pursuit immediately began to stack up behind the stolen SUV as officers conducted a high-risk, felony traffic stop.
Westbound traffic was temporarily stopped, while officers conducted the stop.
Riverside PD’s Air-1 circles over the scene where the pursuit ended. Steve Johnson/What is going on in Riverside County photo
During the traffic stop, Riverside PD’s aviation unit in the department’s Air-1 helicopter circled overhead, providing vital information to ground officers.
Riverside PD’s K9 “Noran” and his handler, Officer Darrell Hill, were at the front within moments, with Noran barking viciously and ready to deploy if needed.
One witness who was interviewed by Steve Johnson of the nearly 100,000 member Facebook group “What is going on in Riverside County?“, explained what she saw immediately after Burns crashed the stolen vehicle. She said after the vehicle came to a stop, Burns reached for the door handle to flee on foot, but changed his mind when he saw K9 Noran at the ready.
Burns was subsequently taken into custody without incident.
A second female who was in the vehicle at the time of the pursuit was detained. No information was immediately available regarding if she was charged with any crime.
Traffic backed up for several miles during the incident. Steve Johnson/What is going on in Riverside County photo
As officers conducted their investigation where the pursuit ended, westbound traffic was reopened; however traffic remained backed up, as curious motorists slowly drove past the scene of the stop. Vehicles could be seen backed up for several miles.
CHP officials issued a SigAlert in the area, due to the heavily congested traffic.
Officers concluded their investigation in just over two hours, at which time traffic on the freeway slowly began to return to normal speed.
There were no reported injuries from the collision at the end of the pursuit.
An online jail records search revealed Burns is being held in lieu of $100,000 bail and he is scheduled to be arraigned at the Riverside Hall of Justice Jan. 19.
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Contact the writer: [email protected]
Trevor Montgomery spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg in an off-duty accident.
During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations, including the Robert Presley Detention Center, the Southwest Station in Temecula, the Hemet Station, and the Lake Elsinore Station, along with many other locations.
Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, Personnel and Background Investigations and he finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator.
Trevor has been married for more than 26 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and has 13 children and 12 – soon to be 13 – grandchildren.
Contact the writer: [email protected]
Trevor Montgomery spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg in an off-duty accident.
During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations, including the Robert Presley Detention Center, the Southwest Station in Temecula, the Hemet Station, and the Lake Elsinore Station, along with many other locations.
Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, Personnel and Background Investigations and he finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator.
Trevor has been married for more than 26 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and has 13 children and 12 – soon to be 13 – grandchildren.