SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Monday update:
The Sacramento County Coroner's Office told ABC10 that the timeline they initially reported is wrong. A spokesperson said the crash was at 4:53 a.m. on August 29th and Amelian Houff was declared deceased at 7:32 a.m.
Sacramento Police told ABC10 Monday that fire department responders went to the vehicle "moments after" it was deemed safe by officers. Police said that no weapons were found in the car but at least 100 pounds of marijuana were recovered.
Original Story:
A mother is demanding answers from the Sacramento Police Department and other law enforcement agencies after a high-speed police chase ended in the death of her son.
According to the Sacramento County Coroner's Office, 20-year-old Amelian Houff died in a "motor vehicle accident" on Sunday, August 29 at 4:48 a.m. Olivia Edwards, Houff's mother, says the Sacramento Police Department has given her little to no information regarding her son's death.
"I don't have a badge number," Edwards said. "I haven't even been provided the autopsy, but they're telling me he died on impact. Something is wrong with that."
ABC10's Race and Culture team reached out to the Sacramento Police Department regarding Edwards' concerns. Sergeant Sabrina Briggs is the Public Information Officer. In a statement, Briggs explains that patrol officers were responding to a burglary in progress at a marijuana dispensary on Light Sky Court in Sacramento.
Police recorded the incident happening on Sunday, August 29, at about 4:48 a.m. That time, however, conflicts with the coroner's same recorded time of death for Houff.
"It was believed to have been related to a series of similar burglaries, where the suspects were heavily armed," explained Briggs in the statement. "When officers arrived in the area, they located multiple suspect vehicles leaving at a high rate of speed. When officers attempted an enforcement stop on the vehicles, the vehicles fled from officers, leading them on a pursuit."
According to the Sacramento Police Department, one of the suspect vehicles crashed into a tree near the intersection of Bradshaw Road and Elder Creek Road. That's about 3 miles away from Light Sky Court. Since the crashed vehicle was surrounded by heavy brush, police say, visibility into the car was limited.
"Officers requested additional resources and set up a perimeter to contain any suspects who may have fled on foot," Briggs said. "Officers utilized several resources that included an unmanned aerial system, police helicopter, and shields prior to approaching the vehicle."
According to the Sacramento Police Department, officers found and detained one person near the crash site. The unidentified man was transported to the hospital for medical treatment after police say he suffered moderate injuries from the crash.
Officers later identified Houff as the second person in the crashed vehicle. Police say he sustained serious injuries from the crash. Emergency personnel with the Sacramento Fire Department pronounced Houff dead at the scene.
"It's been devastating," said Edwards. "It's been life-changing, right now, for me. It's surreal. A part of me died that day."
Houff's family is planning to hold a news conference next week. They're also questioning the discrepancies in the timelines reported by the Sacramento Police Department and the county coroner's office.
"There are huge discrepancies," said Jamilia Land, community activist. "This young man [Amelian Houff] was allowed to remain in a vehicle. There was no medical aid rendered to him for two and a half hours [after the crash]. There was gross negligence and indifference for human life."
Sacramento police are still investigating the burglary at the dispensary and searching for other vehicles and suspects. The California Highway Patrol is investigating the crash.