Fatal Crash Prompts Debate

A crash that killed an Oxnard teen over the weekend has again prompted debate about how police should conduct high-speed pursuits through urban areas.

It could be weeks before investigators know crucial details about the incident, in which a California Highway Patrol cruiser pursuing a speeder struck another car carrying 18-year-old Jessica Mohorko on Saturday just after midnight. It has not been determined whether the cruiser had its flashing lights or siren on at the time.

The victim’s father on Monday implored the CHP to use more caution on the busy stretch of Oxnard Boulevard where the crash occurred and to reevaluate its policy on high-speed pursuits.

“I am not going to tolerate them speeding through my community,” said Edgar Mohorko, senior pastor at Messiah Foursquare Church in Oxnard and a chaplain for the Oxnard Police Department.

“They didn’t go out there to kill my daughter; they were doing their job,” Mohorko said of the husband-wife team of officers involved. “But the problem is, they are also supposed to be out there protecting my daughter.”

Jessica Mohorko died instantly. Her boyfriend, Chris Haynes, who was driving them to a local restaurant after a school dance, suffered a broken arm.

Highway Patrol Commissioner D.O. “Spike” Helmick on Monday offered his condolences to the young woman’s family and promised a thorough investigation.

At the same time, he defended policies that allow officers to drive at a high rate of speed to catch suspects, whether they’re traffic violators or armed felons.

“There are times, unfortunately, when you’ve got to stop an individual to ensure they don’t continue down the road and do more damage,” Helmick said. “That’s a thing you struggle with all the time. If you simply went the speed limit all the time, they’d keep going fast and someone else would get hurt.”

CHP officials say Officers Jack and Christina Raughton were trying to catch up to a speeder on Oxnard Boulevard, a commercial strip with late-night gas stations and restaurants that connects the Ventura Freeway to Pacific Coast Highway.

It was unclear how long they had been following the speeder, but Lt. Steve Munday said the car had run a red light at Vineyard Avenue, about half a mile north of the collision site.

Officially, the CHP said, the Raughtons were not involved in a chase, because they had not yet notified the dispatcher that one had begun.

“When they have an actual pursuit, the officer will get on the radio and say that to the dispatcher,” CHP spokesman Tom Marshall said. “None of that was activated. They were just about to make a stop, they thought. The driver, to the best of our knowledge, never knew they were trying to stop him.”

Investigators have yet to determine how fast the Raughtons’ cruiser was traveling in the 45-mph zone.

According to the CHP, witnesses said the cruiser’s flashing light was on. But Edgar Mohorko said that when he arrived at the scene about 30 minutes after the collision, no light was flashing.

The Raughtons were not seriously injured but are distraught and have been placed on paid administrative leave, Helmick said. They will be interviewed again by authorities this week.

Investigators also hope to resolve whether Haynes should have seen the cruiser coming before he turned left into its path from an unprotected lane just south of the Gonzales Road intersection.

CHP officials said they have no reason to believe Haynes’ driving was impaired but that they would test blood samples that he volunteered the night of the accident.

Oxnard Police Chief Art Lopez declined to discuss the crash, saying his agency was not privy to details of the investigation. But overall, he echoed Helmick’s comments about police pursuits. “From time to time, you’re going to have police chases that go through urban areas,” Lopez said. “There’s a necessity for that. I’m not going to call for any changes.”

Traffic accidents involving emergency vehicles in the city have claimed two other lives in recent years.

In January, an Oxnard police car en route to a domestic disturbance struck a 20-year-old man crossing Ventura Road. Officials have said that the cruiser did not have its flashing lights or siren turned on. An investigation into that incident remains open.

And in May 1996, an Oxnard community activist died after his van was broadsided by a speeding fire engine responding to an emergency call. The midday collision occurred as 48-year-old George Valle tried to make a left turn at the intersection of Oxnard Boulevard and Colonia Road.

Statewide, police pursuits have been declining in recent years. CHP statistics indicate that chases dropped from 7,817 in 1995 to 5,334 in 2000, and that fatalities have dropped dramatically as well. During that five-year period, police chases caused 143 deaths, according to the CHP.

Some police agencies in the state no longer allow chases for minor traffic violations.

A memorial service for Jessica Mohorko will be held at 7 tonight at Hueneme High School. An additional service is being organized for Wednesday evening at a location yet to be determined.

Mohorko’s viewing will be held Wednesday between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. at the Messiah Foursquare Church in Oxnard. A funeral is planned for 10 a.m. Thursday at South Coast Fellowship in Ventura, with burial to follow at Ivy Lawn Cemetery.