HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011_10_17_Fatality in the Canyon
BAKERSFIELD POLICE
DEPARTMENT
PRESS RELEASE
Greg Williamson, Chief of Police
For Immediate Release October 17, 2011
On 10/17/11, at 11:13 a.m., Bakersfield Police responded to a domestic disturbance at the
Chevron, 11101 HWY 178. Officers contacted a woman who reported her 41 year old husband
was intoxicated and had made threats to kill her, her children and his coworkers. As the officers
were speaking with the woman her husband slowly drove past them and told them, “You better
follow me into the canyon”. The officers had already established probable cause to arrest the
man and followed him as he drove east on Hwy 178 at about 70 mph on the highway. As the
officers pursued the man, he called the police department communications center and told
dispatch that once in the canyon he was going to drive over the edge. When the officers were
about ½ mile west of the mouth of the canyon they were instructed by a supervisor to
discontinue the pursuit and instead try to follow him at a safe speed. The man also slowed as
he entered the canyon to speeds of 30-40. After they traveled eastward into the canyon
eastward approximately 2 ½ miles the man accelerated and swerved deliberately to the left and
over the edge onto the canyon floor, causing fatal injuries. Investigation continues. The man
will be identified by the Coroner’s Office.