The 22-year-old man who led law enforcement in a high-speed pursuit that led to the death of a San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Deputy faces felony murder charges and avoided a peace officer and a massive stolen vehicle, the district attorney announced Wednesday.
San Bernardino County Dist said San Bernardino resident Ryan Dwayne Turner Jr. was arrested earlier this week after pursuing law enforcement for nine minutes and running four red lights. Atty. Jason Anderson. Turner was suspected of driving a stolen car.
According to the Sheriff’s Department, Deputy Hector Kuevas Jr. was one of the lawmakers pursuing Turner in the violent traffic collision that arose from the pursuit. The crash took place at 11:09am at the intersection of Seneca Avenue and El Evado Road.
Turner escaped the scene. Anderson said this wasn’t the first time Turner has escaped from the scene after being caught by law enforcement in a stolen car. Last year, Turner crashed a law enforcement cruiser with a civilian while pursuing in Rialto, authorities said. According to ABC 7 News, he served in that case eight months after not suing Grand Theft Auto for the contest.
“It certainly plays a factor in our view that this is a murder because of a reckless indifference to life,” Anderson said. “The murder charge is appropriate when you know the risks that may arise and believe he is, and clearly believe that driving in this particular case has led to the death of an individual.”
The exact details of the cause of the crash are still unknown.
Department investigators said at a press conference Tuesday that they were considering skidmarks and other evidence to get a better grasp of what happened. One other driver was also involved in the accident, he said.
Marcelina Demian, the other driver who collided with Quebus, has recovered from the injury, San Bernardino San reported. Demian told the Sun that he hadn’t heard of the chase vehicle.
Demian was turning left on the green arrow and said that Quebus would not turn on the emergency lights and sirens.
The Cuevas SUV appears to be ripped into two at the scene of the crash, and the black sedan at the crash sight had damaged the front-end in the airbag deployment, KNBC-TV reported.
Quebus was survived by his wife and two children.
“Hector is the type of law enforcement officer we all want to be,” Dikas said. “He is an epic and great guardian and a great father, and we suffer from his losses and will support his family for quite some time.”
Turner will be arrested Thursday at Victorville Court.
Staff writer Clara Harter contributed to this report.
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