Deadly high speed chase ends with officer shooting
28-year-old Ronald Aduddell was shot by two police officers after he had rammed a police officer near the area of Union and Bascom Avenues in San Jose.
Ronald Aududdell was killed following the extended chase
The suspect was acting suspiciously when police officers tried to approach him, when he took off at a high rate of speed. According to a press release by Officer Albert Morales of the San Jose Police department on March 4, 2013, “The officer chose not to pursue the suspect out of concern for public safety.” Officers in the area searched for the suspect and caught sight of him a few minutes later. According to the report, “seeing the marked police vehicle, the suspect drove directly at the officer and rammed the patrol car head-on.” Police believe that the onset of the chase was provoked Aduddell when he attempted an assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer.
For more than 20 minutes the suspect Aduddell terrorized drivers and pedestrians, proceeding at a high rate of speed through local roadways, apparently trying to provoke officers. Throughout the chase a woman’s purse, a bag with several baseball bats, and other items were thrown out along Highway 85 and Winchester Blvd. Officers think he may have thrown out a weapon or other incriminating evidence and have requested the public’s help in recovering any possible items.
The chase ended when officers boxed in the car on Blossom Avenue
At one point in the chase, Aduddell tried to enter the wrong way onto interstate 85, but was blocked by patrolling officers to prevent him from driving the wrong way on the freeway. It was likely that he would have injured motorists returning home from work in the early afternoon, and caused a major collision, tying up traffic for hours.
A slow speed chase began to ensue as the suspect drove along Winchester Blvd and Bascom Ave., leading through the city of Campbell, and eventually ending in the 5800 Block of Blossom Ave. near Blossom Hill Road. According to the report, “The suspect was struck by the gunfire and was pronounced dead at the scene a short time later.” Aduddell had tried to outrun police, however using a box-in maneuver, police were able to stop him. Aduddell exited the vehicle, and drew his hands towards his waistband. Fearing he had gun officers fired on Aduddell, who later died at the scene from multiple gunshot wounds.
Technicians clean up the crime scene and gather evidence
During the police investigation, Aduddell’s mother and sister arrived at the scene and identified the car as the one her son was driving. Crowds, who had already gathered, had videotaped Aduddell’s mother, who lay on the ground crisscross from her son’s body and cried. One person visiting from Modesto California said, “I was just visiting and have never seen anything like this.” He was witness to the final moments that led police to shoot and kill Aduddell who had tried to ram police officers when they tried to investigate his irrational behavior when seen by patrolling officers. Other bystanders videotaped Aduddell as he drove past with a police pursuit of some 13 marked and unmarked cars. In a press interview Sgt. Jason Dwyer with the San Jose Police department said, “Officers believed the man was armed because he brandished what appeared to be a gun during Saturday’s chase.”
Officers on site marked off the area with a red crime scene tape, and re-routed motorists away from the scene in order to help them make it back to their homes safely. The investigation lasted well into midnight, as forensic and cleanup crews finished cleaning blood from the street and towing the vehicle to the police evidence building to be booked into evidence for the deadly assault and attempt to kill a police officer.
Photos: SCSD, Google Maps, Amy Nilson
Read More:
Cupertino Patch: Hwy 85 High-Speed Chase Driver Id’d
SFGate: Suspect killed after high-speed chase in San Jose
