Beaumont Boy, 17, Leads Cops on High Speed Chase in Stolen Car

PHOTO: These screenshots from KMIR6 News shows the vehicle crashed and totaled in Cathedral City following a high speed police pursuit on Dec. 11, 2014.

A total of three young people, one of them an accused murderer, were arrested following a wild police pursuit through several Coachella Valley cities, and the driver has been identified as a Beaumont resident.

The unidentified 17-year-old boy, a 16-year-old girl and 18-year-old Kurtis Knigge of La Quinta were arrested Thursday following the afternoon chase– which ended only when the Beaumont driver crashed into another car, totaling the stolen Mercedes sedan, according to police.

It started around 2:50 p.m. when a sheriff’s deputy pulled the vehicle over on Interstate 10, after noticing that it had been reported stolen, Sheriff’s Spokesman Deputy Albert Martinez said.

“A high-risk stop was conducted on the I-10 off ramp at Bob Hope Dr., and the passenger of the vehicle was recognized as Kurtis Knigge, 18 of La Quinta, who was wanted in connection with various residential burglaries throughout the Coachella Valley,” Martinez said in a news release.

At that point, rather than surrender to authorities, the driver decided to speed off.

“The vehicle suddenly accelerated and fled, leading deputies in a vehicle pursuit through the cities of Rancho Mirage, Palm Desert, Bermuda Dunes, Indio Hills and Cathedral City,” Martinez said.

Local news outlets report that the chase reached speeds of up to 100 mph.

The car was involved in five smaller crashes before colliding with another vehicle in Cathedral City, at which point the three fled. But they “... were apprehended a short distance away with the assistance of the Cathedral City Police Department, the California Highway Patrol Air Unit, and the Coachella Valley Violent Crime Gang Task Force,” Martinez sai

The Beaumont driver and his two passengers were arrested. Knigge was injured by a sheriff’s K-9 dog and was transported to a hospital for treatment, Martinez said.

Two people involved in separate collisions were injured during the chase, and were both taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, the sergeant said.

The driver of the stolen Mercedes was arrested on suspicion of evading, possession of stolen property, auto theft and resisting arrest, and his female passenger was arrested on a warrant, Martinez said.

Knigge, initially arrested on suspicion of burglary, auto theft and resisting arrest, was booked on suspicion of murder and gun possession. He was being held without bail in the county jail in Indio, and is expected in court on Monday, according to jail records. It wasn’t immediately clear what murder he was suspected in.

– City News Service contributed to this report.