High-Speed Police Chase in Ventura County Leads to Multiple Serious Injuries

A police pursuit of a shoplifting suspect ended when the man rammed two vehicles on Santa Rosa Road, flipping one of them on its side.

The Ventura County District Attorney’s Office said that the incident happened on Jan. 24, 2025, when the 24-year-old Lancaster man was first caught stealing merchandise from a Target store. Ventura County Sheriff’s deputies responded to the reported theft in Camarillo, and found surveillance footage showing him allegedly concealing undisclosed merchandise before leaving without paying.

When detectives later found the man’s car nearby, he attempted to evade arrest by ramming into an undercover law enforcement vehicle and took off, leading deputies on a high-speed chase.

The pursuit only ended when the man crashed into two vehicles on Santa Rosa Road. The D.A.’s Office said the crash flipped one of the two cars, seriously injuring the driver and injuring three others in the car.

Officials took the suspect into custody and sent him to the Ventura County Jail, where he’s currently being held in lieu of a $2 million bond.

The Risks of High-Speed Police Pursuits

In the 1990s, the Department of Justice called high-speed police pursuits the most dangerous kind of ordinary police work. Indeed, chase-related fatalities and injuries far outweigh shooting-related fatalities and injuries.

But most departments have no accountability measures in place for police officers who recklessly kill or injure people during dangerous pursuits. A Car Accident Attorney Beverly Hills must stand in the gap in these situations. Furthermore, only an attorney obtains fair compensation for these victims. More on that below.

Moreover, the need for police chases is questionable, at best. Technology has made them obsolete in many respects. GPS tagging devices are a good example. Police officers can plant a device on a moving vehicle and safely apprehend the suspect at a later time. Specifically, in the above story, police officers had video from the scene and, presumably, also had the suspect’s license plate number. A dangerous chase was therefore, at least arguably, an unnecessary risk.

Finally, the bottom line is that if officers didn’t pursue suspects, suspects wouldn’t run away, at least arguably.

Your Claim for Damages

To obtain compensation for a police chase-related injury, an Experienced Personal Injury Attorney must first overcome the official immunity doctrine. This same rule often protects officers from liability in reckless shooting cases.

So, compensation is available if the police chase was reckless. That’s one step above negligence. Some factors to consider include:

• Time of day,
• Driver’s alleged offense,
• Type of area (e.g. residential or commercial),
• Vehicle and/or pedestrian traffic in the area,
• Alternatives available, and
• Pursue or don’t pursue instructions.

The pursue or don’t pursue instructions could be a permanent, formal policy or a dispatcher’s one-time instructions.

Usually, the city, state, or county that employed the reckless officer(s) is financially responsible for damages in these cases, under the respondeat superior rule.

Consult Our Personal Injury Lawyers Today!

Officers are legally accountable to victims of reckless police chases. For a free consultation with a Personal Injury Attorney California, contact the Law Offices of Eslamboly Hakim. We do not charge upfront legal fees in these matters.

Credit: Photo by Midjourney