CHP officer details Highway 4 chase that ended with woman dying in fiery crash
Officer Darius Rackley followed 31-year-old Elsy Zapien-Vasquez after logging her speed at 99 miles per hour, then watched as she crashed into the back of a truck on a Highway 4 onramp.
MARTINEZ — A California Highway Patrol officer took the stand Friday and recounted chasing a woman eastbound on Highway 4, then watching her speed off the freeway and rear-end a commercial truck in a crash that killed her.
Officer Darius Rackley, a motorcycle cop for CHP, testified at an inquest that in the moments after watching 31-year-old Elsy Zapien-Vasquez, of Pittsburg, rear-end a large, green transport truck, he went from attempting to arrest her to trying to save her life as the engine to the SUV caught fire. Rackley attempted to smash out a window from the SUV and used a fire extinguisher from a good Samaritan to try and put out the blaze, he testified.
Despite the efforts, Zapien-Vasquez died from multiple blunt force injuries sustained in the crash, including damage to her spleen, kidneys, lungs, and massive internal bleeding, pathologist Dr. Ikechi Ogan. testified Friday. Zapien-Vasquez suffered third-degree burns and her blood showed signs she’d recently ingested methamphetamine, Ogan added.
Rackley testified he was conducting speed enforcement on Highway 4 that day when he clocked the SUV driven by Zapien-Vasquez at 99 miles per hour. He attempted to stop the car but she continued on, weaving through traffic. Rackley said he stopped the pursuit when she got off on Contra Loma Boulevard, but that she crashed while attempting to re-enter the freeway, after running a red light.
Video played before the inquest jury shows Zapien-Vasquez rear-end the truck at a high rate of speed, and Rackley’s motorcycle comes into view a few seconds later.
Coroner’s inquests are held for all law enforcement deaths in Contra Costa County, from police shootings to natural fatalities of people in custody. Jurors are tasked with deciding the official manner of death, but their decision holds no civil nor criminal liability. The jury ruled Zapien-Vasquez’s death was an accident.