Vehicle in four-car crash linked to robbery series

Karen Zekan

Tuesday, Sept. 9, 1997 | 9:21 a.m.

The car a 17-year-old boy is accused of driving in a high-speed chase with police that ended in a four-car pile-up may be the same vehicle used in a series of robberies, Metro Police said.

Traffic Sgt. Tracy McDonald declined to elaborate on how police were able to establish a possible connection, stating only that evidence found inside the smashed black 1987 Buick Riviera resembled items that may belong to recent robbery victims.

"That's all I can say at this point," McDonald said. "It's still too early in the investigation to confirm anything."

A missing license plate initially drew a Metro patrol officer's attention to the Riviera shortly after 5 p.m. Monday as it made its way through traffic near Durango and Westcliff drives, police said.

The officer was able to get the southbound Riviera to stop near Durango and Alta Drive and was approaching the vehicle on foot when it abruptly sped off, McDonald said.

With the patrol car in pursuit, the southbound Riviera blew through a red traffic light at Durango and Charleston Boulevard and was flying past the 45 mph posted signs at an estimated 80 mph when it attempted to run a red light at Sahara Avenue, McDonald said.

Sunny Marshall was in the middle westbound lane on Sahara and had almost passed through the Durango intersection when the Riviera crashed into the front passenger side of his 1985 silver Volvo and sent both cars spinning, police said.

"My hands just locked on the steering wheel, and the only thing I was thinking was that I hoped I was going to make it through it all OK," Marshall said.

Marshall's Volvo ran into the passenger side of a 1997 red Honda also westbound on Sahara before winding up straddling a median, police said.

The Riviera cleared the median and came to a stop facing east on Sahara, as did the Honda, which is believed to have bumped the back end of a white 1997 Ford Explorer that was eastbound and about to turn left at the light.

The accident dislodged a decorative median boulder and knocked it into the road.

The Riviera's driver, whose name was not released because he is a juvenile, was released from University Medical Center after being treated for chest injuries. Police said they intended to charge him with felony evading an officer, reckless driving, driving without a license, and driving an uninsured, unregistered vehicle.

Two adult passengers riding in the Riviera were detained and questioned, police said.

The drivers of the other three cars escaped injury, police said.

McDonald declined to specify what robberies or other crimes the Riviera might have either been used in or otherwise connected to.