A 22-year-old man who led law enforcement on a high-speed pursuit that resulted in the death of a San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputy is facing felony charges of murder, evading a peace officer and grand theft auto, the district attorney announced Wednesday.
Ryan Dwayne Turner Jr., a resident of San Bernardino, was arrested earlier this week after allegedly leading law enforcement on a nine-minute pursuit while driving in access of 100 miles per hour and running four red lights, according to San Bernardino County Dist. Atty. Jason Anderson. Turner was suspected of driving a stolen car.
A violent traffic collision that resulted from the pursuit killed Sheriff’s Deputy Hector Cuevas Jr., who was one of several deputies pursuing Turner, according to the Sheriff’s Department. The crash took place at 11:09 a.m. at the intersection of Seneca and El Evado roads.
Turner fled the scene. Anderson said this is not the first time that Turner had fled the scene after being caught by law enforcement with a stolen car. Last year, Turner caused a law enforcement cruiser to collide into a citizen during a pursuit in Rialto, according to authorities. He served eight months after pleading no contest to grand theft auto in that case, according to ABC 7 News.
“That certainly factors into our idea that this is a murder case because of the reckless indifference to life,” Anderson said. “When you are aware of the risk that could occur, and we believe that he was, and obviously the driving in this particular case led to the death of an individual, murder charges are appropriate.”
The precise details of what caused the crash are still unknown.
Department investigators are looking at skid marks and other evidence to put together a better picture of what happened, Sheriff Shannon Dicus said during a Tuesday press conference. One other driver was also involved in the accident, he said.
The other driver who collided with Cuevas, Marcellina Demyan, is recovering from her injuries, the San Bernardino Sun reported. Demyan told the Sun she didn’t hear the pursuing vehicles.
Demyan was making a left turn on a green arrow and said Cuevas did not turn on his emergency lights and siren.
Cuevas’ SUV appeared to be ripped in two at the scene of the crash, and a black sedan at the crash site had front-end damage with deployed airbags, KNBC-TV reported.
Cuevas is survived by his wife and two children.
“Hector is the type of law enforcement officer that we all want to be,” Dicus said. “He was a grand and great protector and a great father, and we will be suffering his loss and supporting his family for quite some time.”
Turner will be arraigned in the Victorville Courthouse on Thursday.
Staff writer Clara Harter contributed to this report.