Anaheim Police Chase Has a Tragic Ending: Fullerton Woman Dies

A Fullerton woman died Wednesday of injuries she received when the car in which she was riding was struck by another vehicle being chased by an Anaheim police cruiser.

Sheri Mattingly, 31, a passenger in a 1979 Toyota Celica jammed with eight people, including five children, died at UCI Medical Center in Orange, a coroner’s official said.

Anaheim police said they had been chasing a red Camaro for about six minutes Tuesday night at speeds up to 80 m.p.h. when it ran a red light at the corner of Brookhurst Road and Commonwealth Avenue in Fullerton and collided with the Toyota. The crash sent both cars slamming into light poles.

Injured in the accident were the five children, who range in age from 4 to 12 years old, and the driver of the Camaro, identified as Monica Josephine Mendoza, 21, of Anaheim, said Fullerton Police Lt. Bud Lathrope.

Police said they believed the group was returning from a church event.

Mendoza remained in fair condition Wednesday at United Western Medical Center-Santa Ana with facial cuts, Lathrope said. She was held on a $50,000 bond on charges of driving under the influence, reckless driving and evading police, Lathrope said. Additional charges may be filed because of the death, he said.

The injured children were Melissa Mattingly, 8, the daughter of the victim; Erica Allison, 4, of Fullerton; Raleigh Thomas, 8, of Fullerton; Ramiah Thomas, 10; and Rahea Thomas, 12. They are in stable to good condition at four area hospitals, Lathrope said.

The driver, who was thrown from the car upon impact, and another adult did not require hospitalization, Lathrope said. He would not identify the pair.

The police pursuit began at 9:45 p.m. Tuesday, when Anaheim Police Officer Walt Jackson spotted the Camaro peeling out of a service station at Brookhurst and Ball roads with wheels spewing smoke in an “exhibition of speed,” said Anaheim Police Sgt. Ken Brott. An officer started to chase the car but the driver failed to stop, Brott said.

Another cruiser and a helicopter aided in the chase, which went along Ball Road to Euclid Street, to La Palma Avenue, to Brookhurst and on to the crash site, police said.

Anaheim Police Capt. Randall Gaston said that the officers were 200 yards behind the Camaro when the collision occurred and that the helicopter was just reaching the car.

“Our preference is that something like this won’t happen,” he said. “There’s a hazard the minute we get involved.”

Fullerton police did not join the chase, said Fullerton Police Sgt. Joe Klein. He said Orange County police departments have an arrangement that allows one agency to chase a suspect within the borders of another city if the chase originated in the first city.

“An officer has a right to finish a chase,” Klein said. “We will not join a pursuit unless we are asked.”

Gaston said units must end a pursuit when danger to the public begins to outweigh the benefits of capturing a suspect. The officer in pursuit and supervisors decide when to give up a chase, he said.

“Our basic pursuit policy is that we are continually mindful of the hazards,” Gaston said. “Factors taken into consideration are the way the car is driving, traffic conditions and offenses.

“Our preference is, all things being ideal, to get a car to stop,” he said.

An internal police investigation of the chase is under way, Gaston said.

Countywide guidelines suggested by the Orange County Police Chiefs and Sheriff’s Assn. have been adopted by nearly all Orange County law enforcement agencies. In general, they allow police vehicles in an emergency to violate the usual rules of the road while pursuing a suspect or responding to an emergency call, but only if red lights and siren are used.

Guidelines urge officers to break off a pursuit when the risk of a traffic accident becomes too great, but the discretion still remains largely with the pursuing officers, said Al Cooper, a spokesman for the California Assn. of Police Chiefs.

The policy has drawn fire from families of Orange County residents who have died in crashes involving police pursuits.

Nine people were killed in pursuit crashes in Orange County last year, according to police records.

Mattingly has become the second person killed in such accidents in the county this year. On Feb. 18, a Fullerton man was killed when his car collided with a truck in Brea during a chase by La Habra police.

“The problem is that we never know how the individual will respond,” Gaston said. “It’s a judgment call by the officer and the supervisors. If we don’t feel that the situation is serious enough, we will abandon.”