Videos show CHP was not actively chasing driver in crash that killed Oakland teacher

OAKLAND, Calif. - California Highway Patrol officers were not actively pursuing a driver who allegedly caused a fatal crash that killed a treasured Castlemont High School teacher, according to newly released video obtained through a public records request.

Extended aerial, dashcam, and bodycam footage from CHP provides a clearer timeline of the events leading up to the May 28 crash that killed Marvin Boomer while he was on an evening walk with his partner, Nina Woodruff, on East 21st Street.

The footage was released to KTVU a day after community advocates renewed calls for the CHP to stop chases on city streets. The Oakland Police Commission also said systemic changes are needed in how officers pursue and arrest suspects. 

However, CHP officers, not Oakland police, were involved in the May incident.

CHP officers are not subject to the Oakland Police Department’s pursuit policy, which limits pursuits on city streets to under 50 mph unless a supervisor gives the green light.

The CHP contends that officers were not actively chasing 18-year-old Eric Scott Hernandez-Garcia at the moment of the crash.

Hernandez-Garcia was driving his mother’s Infiniti G35 on that day. Officers first spotted the car in a liquor store parking lot near 102nd Avenue and International Boulevard. 

The vehicle was wanted for driving recklessly three weeks prior, according to the Alameda County Sheriff's Office. It's unclear who was driving the car during that incident.

Sequence of events

Dig deeper:

So when CHP officers located the vehicle on May 28, they tried to get Hernandez-Garcia to stop. He didn't, and that's when the chase began.

The chase moved from city streets to Interstate 880 and eventually a residential neighborhood near East 21st Street and Park Boulevard.

According to the CHP, the pursuit was called off due to the suspect’s excessive speed, over 90 mph on both city streets and the freeway.

Aerial video shows Hernandez-Garcia parking in the 1800 block of Fifth Avenue, between 18th and 19th Streets. As a CHP patrol car approached, the suspect got back into the vehicle and drove away. The patrol car followed, though it remained several blocks behind, while a CHP plane tracked from above.

Moments later, Hernandez-Garcia’s Infiniti collided with a minivan. After the crash, CHP officers said they stopped chasing the vehicle.

Footage shows that after the initial crash, no patrol units were directly behind Hernandez-Garcia’s car as it continued for at least 25 seconds before a second, deadly crash at East 21st Street and 12th Avenue.

Sparks flew from beneath the car as it swerved into oncoming traffic, struck a tree, hit a parked car, and sheared a fire hydrant from its base. The hydrant flew into Boomer, killing him and injuring his partner.

Authorities said Hernandez-Garcia pulled off the vehicle’s rear license plate before he took off running. He was later tackled and handcuffed by CHP officers.

In the body camera footage, he’s heard telling officers, "That wasn’t me. That wasn’t me." As they pulled him to his feet, he said, "I was scared."

His attorney, Roseann Torres, said Hernandez-Garcia is "deathly afraid of police."

Authorities originally said that the car was stolen. However, they later clarified it was wanted, not stolen.

Community not buying CHP's claims 

What they're saying:

Community advocates have slammed the CHP’s version of events, alleging officers were still actively pursuing Hernandez-Garcia at the time of the second crash.

Hernandez-Garcia has been charged with vehicular manslaughter, felony hit-and-run, and felony evading police.

Critics argue that chasing suspects over a car should never turn deadly.

"In the case of Dr. Marvin Boomer. They were there 10 seconds after the crash happened. So if you weren't chasing him, then how were you there that fast? "That's a lie," said Cat Brooks, of the Anti Police-Terror Project.

However, review of the video showed the patrol cruiser arriving 25 seconds after the crash that killed Boomer.

The tragedy has reignited a long-standing debate over police pursuit policies.

"It raises a legal question, a moral question, and also, do the police do enough or do they do too much?" said KTVU legal analyst Michael Cardoza. He said tragedies do occur despite the best intentions of law enforcement. 

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