Dem Lawmakers Sacrifice 2 Children, Tie Cops Hands in Worship of George Floyd's Memory
Two children in the blue state of Washington are dead after a suspected drunken driver went against traffic and crashed into them on Interstate 82 in a tragedy that could have been prevented by common-sense laws.
An hour before the horrific Feb. 28 crash, Washington State Patrol troopers had spotted the car speeding at 120 miles an hour, according to the Yakima Herald-Republic.
Investigators believe the driver, identified as Keith Goings, was either high on drugs or drunk at the time.
Trooper Chris Thorson, the patrol’s public information officer for the region, said a drug-recognition expert found that Goings was “under the influence of intoxicants,” and a sample of his blood was taken, the Herald-Republic reported.
Unfortunately, troopers were prevented from stopping the speeding driver because an inane 2021 state law inspired by the 2020 death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody bans cops from vehicular pursuits unless there’s evidence the suspect committed a violent crime.
“Under current legislative law, (speeding) does not give us enough probable cause to start a pursuit,” Thorson said, according to the Herald-Republic.
Under Section 7 of House Bill 1054, police are banned from engaging in a vehicular pursuit unless there’s probable cause to believe the driver has committed a violent crime or a sex offense or is driving while intoxicated.
Driving recklessly at speeds exceeding 110 mph isn’t probable cause for an officer to give chase in Washington.
“It seems ridiculous,” Selah Police Chief Dan Christman told the Herald-Republic.
According to a court document, various Washington state troopers reported they spotted Goings speeding four different times before he slammed head-on with another car, killing Delilah Minshew, 8, and Timothy Escamilla, 6.
Their 5-year-old sister was hospitalized with injuries, as was the driver of their vehicle, Maurilio D. Trejo.
Troopers tried four times to stop a speeding driver before he collided head on with a car in Sunnyside, killing two children, according to a court document. The suspect is facing four felonies that carry a statutory maximum of life in prison. https://t.co/1JQvL78eIR
— Yakima Herald-Republic (@yakima_herald) March 8, 2023
Washington State Patrol dispatchers had received numerous 911 calls from members of the public who reported seeing Goings speeding in his white Ford Mustang and turning his headlights on and off before he collided into another car, according to the affidavit.
Because of the 2021 state law handcuffing police from chasing down suspected criminals, they were forced to let him go when he evaded them.
“Each time, Keith A. Goings sped off and evaded troopers, a probable cause affidavit said, with speeds reaching 120 mph Feb. 28,” the Yakima Herald-Republic reported.
Yakima County Superior Court Judge Richard Bartheld has set bail at $100,000 for Goings, who is facing four felony charges, including two counts each of second-degree murder and vehicular assault.
The judge said Goings had several chances to pull over before he crashed.
“There were numerous opportunities in approximately 70 miles that were traveled while being pursued by law enforcement for Mr. Goings to stop, and that did not occur,” Bartheld said.
“The reaction of the defendant when extricated from his car was also a bit troubling when the car he struck head-on killed two young children and injured a father and sibling,” the judge said.
According to the affidavit, when Goings was being removed from his car, he “was reported to be laughing and showing complete disregard for the occupants of the other vehicle.”
The wrong-way driver who hit and killed two children in another car in Sunnyside was reported laughing after the crash, according to new information from court documents.https://t.co/NGJ7xfeMNZ
— KIMA Action News (@kimatv) March 8, 2023
This senseless tragedy is yet another reminder that the left’s soft-on-crime policies implemented in the name of “racial justice” are incentivizing crime.
Politicians who pass laws that disempower the police are sacrificing children on the altar of toxic wokeness.
This is life in a blue state: Children die because leftist lawmakers tie cops’ hands to honor dead druggies. It’s sickening.
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