The Danville Police Department and the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office are investigating an early morning police pursuit that ended with a serious injury crash and the death of a 19-year-old Livermore girl.
Police Chief Steve Simpkins said the incident began at 1:09 a.m. on Sunday, starting on Sycamore Valley Road near the southbound entrance ramp to I-680. A Danville Police Officer effected a traffic stop after witnessing a white two-door Honda driving recklessly in the area.
The driver fled from the officers onto the freeway at speeds upwards of 90 mph and exited onto eastbound Crow Canyon Road at speeds of 70 mph. Police said the vehicle made a u-turn at the Iron Horse Trail crossing and turned south onto Camino Ramon. At that point the driver lost control of the car and it left the roadway at a high rate of speed, striking a tree south of the intersection with Bollinger Canyon Road, at the entrance to Bishop Ranch One.
San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District personnel were dispatched to the scene of the accident. The driver of the vehicle, identified as Hannah Meecham of Livermore, was pronounced dead at the scene after being “partially ejected” from the car. Two passengers, a 37-year-old man and a second 19-year-old girl, both from Livermore, were transported to John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek with serious injuries.
The car was later determined to have been stolen in nearby Dublin earlier in the week, according to police.
Because the accident involved a fatality, the Contra Costa County Fatal Incident Protocol has been invoked, and officials from the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office are at the scene investigating the incident.
The accident remains under investigation.
Insane. Heard the sirens this morning and knew it was bad.
Who were they? How old? This is awful.
Dayum. Riding around in a stolen car…. sad and pointless.
terrible. mi vida loca
Tragic and senseless and pointless. Joyriding in a stolen car and running from the police. Hope it was worth it.
Whats a 37 yo man doing riding around in a stolen car with two teenage girls?
Absolutely no sense to it. Crazy.
A very sad, senseless and tragic death of young lady. Prayers…
Drug dealing and stealing (and more). I suspect they’ll find meth in her blood. Tragic. War on drugs not working.
https://www.localcrimenews.com/welcome/detail/?arrest=10658542
Why are the Police Chasing a 19 year old girl at 90mph through our community. Did she rob a bank, did she commit a homicide ? This type of police madness is out of control. These pursing Rambo Cops now have the blood of a 19 year old girl on their hands. This is not what we need in our community. These two Cops should be investigated and prosecuted. This young girl did not deserve to die.
We do not believe police were aware of the sex of the driver until after the crash. This was in the early morning, it was dark, the car was reportedly being driven erratically and sped away at the speeds you mention. They could just as easily have hit a station wagon full of innocent people as that tree. The whole incident took about three minutes, and officers only found out the car was stolen after the crash.
The two survivors should be charged with manslaughter and grand theft auto. Period. The only people responsible for this were in that car.
How can I put this politely Tony? You are WRONG. That’s all I have.
It is strange and misguided to blame the police in this. I think the slanted political atmosphere makes it easy for people who don’t know any better to accuse the police in these times. I agree that responsibility rests with the driver – who payed the ultimate price – and the other people in the car. For the police haters out there I say it may be time to send them all on vacation for a couple of months and let the bad guys do what they want. I think it would take the haters a week or so to start asking for their police back again.
Tony, you obviously have bad feelings or encounters with police. If you were rational, you’d think that this whole thing wouldn’t have happened if the 19 year old girl did not run from the police. There is no one else to blame but her. Period.
I’m not sure what circumstances would push a young person to do this sort of thing but it happens too much to be an isolated thing. As tragic as it is and painful for the family there is no one to blame but the person at the wheel of that car. And I agree that her passengers should be charged with her manslaughter unless it can be shown they were tied up in the car.
Tony doesn’t seem to have a clue of the context of the incident. ‘Rambo cops’, give me a break.
Seems this car was full of ‘society negatives’, glad they didn’t hurt productive people. At least one of the them in the car will no longer be a negative to the area.