(KRON) — A mother of twin 6-year-old boys was killed Thursday evening by a suspect fleeing police in a stolen car, according to the Hercules Police Department. The suspect has been charged with vehicular manslaughter.
Just before 7:30 p.m., officers with the Contra Costa Sheriff’s Office told police with the Hercules Police Department that the suspect, 20-year-old Vallejo resident Ralph Ellsworth White, III, was allegedly driving a stolen Mazda SUV toward Hercules on eastbound I-80. A Hercules police officer spotted the car exiting I-80 onto Willow Avenue and began to pursue it, officials said.
White, III, allegedly began to speed up as the officer caught up to him, leading police on a short car chase north on Willow Avenue before crashing into a Nissan traveling south on Willow Avenue trying to make a turn onto 4th Avenue. White, III, immediately got out of the Mazda and began fleeing on foot but was found in a liquor store a short time after, police said.
The driver of the Nissan was a 31-year-old mother with her twin 6-year-old sons. The mother was pronounced dead at the scene. The boys were taken to the Children’s Hospital in Oakland.
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White, III, has been charged with three counts of pursuit causing death or great bodily injury, one count of vehicular manslaughter and one count of possession of a stolen vehicle.
The investigation is ongoing. The Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office, California Highway Patrol and the Hercules Police Department are investigating.