Rangers intervene in a deadly assault with a vehicle

On October 1st 2019 at around 1245pm the Midpeninsula Rangers Emergency Dispatch began receiving reports of an altercation between a driver and pedestrians at Rancho San Antonio County Park.

It was unclear what the situation was at first although it was later discovered that the driver had driven through a locked gate onto a hiking trail. When the driver got into the altercation with the pedestrian she rammed the pedestrian with her car.

A Ranger was the first on scene to this altercation and observed the driver run over the pedestrian that was now on the ground and put the car into reverse to run him over again.

The Ranger activated the emergency lights and siren on their patrol vehicle to intervene in the situation. The Driver then fled the area at a high rate of speed and attempted to hit another pedestrian who was able to dive behind a tree for safety. The Ranger followed the driver, preventing them from continuing to hit other pedestrians in the area and to share the vehicle’s location with the Santa Clara County’s Sheriff Deputies who were also responding to the call. The information provided by the Ranger led to deputies successfully detaining the driver at Rancho San Antonio’s front gate as she was trying to flee the scene.

Additional Rangers arrived on scene of the initial altercation as well and immediately began to assist the injured pedestrian. Rangers are trained in emergency medical response and began life saving care including CPR. Unfortunately the patient's injuries were too great and he later succumbed to his injuries. 

While this incident had a tragic ending, Rangers did everything in their power to intervene in a dangerous situation and prevent further injuries to the public and provide care to those that were injured.

For more coverage on this event:

If you support having skilled and trained Rangers ready to respond to public safety emergencies such as this that occur within and surrounding Open Space Lands please contact your elected board members and ask them to return to the negotiations table with the Rangers to offer a benefits package that is consistent with their public safety role.

Jeff Brown

Jeff Brown worked with the Midpeninsula Rangers Peace Officer’s Association from 2018-2023.

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