Oakland man pleads guilty to killing one passenger in high-speed chase in Butte County
OROVILLE » An Oakland man pleaded guilty Thursday to causing the death of his girlfriend, the passenger of the car he was driving, when it rolled over and came to rest off of Highway 99 during a highspeed chase.
The Butte County District Attorney’s Office said David Lee Survine Jr., 31, pleaded guilty in theButte County Superior Court for evading the police and causing the death of Kristen Jones, 39, of Rialto.
The chase began on the evening of July 30 when the California Highway Patrol attempted to stop Survine for speeding on eastbound Highway 162 near Aguas Frias Road, District Attorney Mike Ramsey said. A CHP sergeant used a radar, which was later determined to be stolen, that read the car was traveling at 85miles perhour in a 55 mph zone.
When the sergeant attempted to initiate a traffic stop by turning on his emergency lights, Survine sped away at over 100 mph, continuing on Highway 162 eastbound until it intersected with Highway 99.
Survine then turned north onto Highway 99, accelerating to as fast as 130 mph, while using the southbound lane and shoulder to pass slower moving northbound traffic, which forced “multiple vehicles to take evasive action to avoid collision,” Ramsey said.
ACHPofficer deployed a spike strip on Highway 99 and Nelson Road. Survine approached at 131mph, according to the officer’s radar, and swerved to the right attempting to avoid the spike strip. However, the front driver’s side tire hit the spike strip.
Approximately onequarter mile down the road from the spike strip, Survine lost control of the vehicle and flipped several times, before coming to rest off the southbound shoulder of Highway 99. According to the release, the wreck caused a dust cloud that obscured visibility of the scene for several minutes.
Officers arrived at the scene and found Jones’ body near the wreckage. They determined Jones had been ejected from the vehicle during the crash. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Survine was not immediately found near the crash site, however, twoand-a-half hours later, a motorist contacted CHP and reported an injured man laying on Nelson Road, about a half-mile east of Highway 99.
CHP officers arrived to find a manwith visible injuries. They identified him as Survine, the driver of the vehicle.
Survine was arrested and transported to Enloe Medical Center to treat his injuries. While at the hospital, he admitted to driving the vehicle and said Jones was his girlfriend, the release said. Survine said he and Jones left Oakland earlier on July 30 and were traveling to Oroville to stay with family.
The release said Survine also admitted to knowing the vehicle was stolen, and recognized CHP was pursuing him.
“Survine stated he believed if he drove fast enough, CHP could no longer pursue him,” the release said.
Survine will be sentenced on Nov. 5 and faces up to 10 years inCalifornia State Prison based upon his plea, Ramsey said.