# Virginia Cruiser Flies Into Apartment Building



## kwflatbed (Dec 29, 2004)

Virginia Cruiser Flies Into Apartment Building



*By DAVID REYNOLDS *
_Courtesy of Harrisonburg Daily News-Record_

The woman who was injured Wednesday night after a police cruiser crashed through her apartment during a high-speed chase was in serious condition Thursday night, according to the University of Virginia Medical Center in Charlottesville.

She had been in critical condition earlier Thursday.

Police say they're investigating the chase and wreck, which started with a traffic stop in a residential neighborhood around 6 p.m. Wednesday.

The injured woman, Dorothy Swao, 35, of 335 G Rockingham Drive, was taken first to Rockingham Memorial Hospital, and then to U.Va.

The center did not release specific details on her condition, or the nature of her injuries.

The Officer

Brian Latuga, 23, the Harrisonburg officer who was driving the car that crashed into the apartment, remained at Rockingham Memorial Hospital on Thursday with "non-life-threatening" injuries to his back and arm, according to a police statement.

Lt. Kurt Boshart, the department's spokesman, said police are still investigating the incident and are concerned for both of the injured.

"There is nothing more disheartening for us than knowing there is a young woman at U.Va. Hospital," Boshart said. "We do not want anybody getting hurt in this community."

The Chase

The high-speed chase along West Gay Street began on Collicello Street, where officers with CHARGE, the Combined Harrisonburg and Rockingham Gang Enforcement unit, stopped Jamie Scott Blanton, of Westminster, Md. The officers stopped him for a "traffic infraction," the statement says.

Blanton, 33, drove away and the officers gave chase, according to the statement. Latuga, on patrol nearby, joined the pursuit shortly after it began, police say. When the chase approached Rockingham Drive, Blanton turned left on the drive, where Gay Street ends, the statement says.

But Latuga did not make the turn and his cruiser went airborne, crashing into Swao's apartment some 40 feet away, according to police.

Other officers continued the chase on Va. 42 North, until the pursuit was called off when speeds exceeded 100 mph, the statement says.

Police captured Blanton around 9:30 at the Super 8 Motel on South Main Street in Harrisonburg. His car was found in Timberville.

Multiple Charges

Blanton faces three misdemeanors and three felonies, according to the police statement.

All the charges except driving without a license, a misdemeanor, stem from the chase.

Blanton is charged with two counts of reckless driving and eluding a police officer, a felony, and two counts of failure to stop and render assistance at the scene of an accident involving injuries.

Citing the ongoing investigation and a desire to release only confirmed facts, Boshart didn't give further details of the chase.

"We do want to be forthcoming," he said. "But I have to make sure the information is factual."

He wouldn't say why the gang task force had stopped Blanton, or whether police knew his identity when the chase began.

Other factors, including how fast Latuga was driving when his cruiser left the road, are also still under investigation, police say.

Latuga started with the department in March 2005 and finished his training in November.

Two-Fold Investigation

While Blanton escaped the scene, Boshart said he is the one responsible for the crash.

"The officer came out here with the intent to do his job," Boshart said. "Jamie Blanton created the situation and, accordingly, he's being charged."

But police are also conducting an administrative investigation, the results of which will be public, Boshart said.

The investigation will review Latuga's decision to pursue the suspect through a residential neighborhood at high speeds.

They will compare the circumstances of the chase to guidelines in police procedures, Boshart said, adding that the department won't rush to conclusions.

He said it's easy to criticize split-second decisions after the fact, but that doing so is not necessarily right.

"The decisions we ask officers to make are tough," he said. "This pursuit was over in 30 seconds. It's not easy."

The Virginia Municipal League, which insures the city of Harrisonburg, is also investigating the wreck and the chase.

The investigation is just beginning, and specific details aren't available, said Tim Ailsworth, the deputy director of the league's insurance division. But he said the investigation will consider whether Latuga was negligent and whether the chase was within the scope of his job.

The results could help determine whether sovereign immunity, which protects governments from lawsuits, applies in this case, Ailsworth said. Sovereign immunity is based on a decision by the Virginia Supreme Court, Ailsworth said, and allows government agencies to act quickly without being second-guessed.

Courtesy of DNRonline.com/Pete Marovich
*A Harrisonburg Police cruiser is removed after ramming through an apartment building during a high-speed chase.*​


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