A Contra Costa County Coroner’s Jury found that the manner of death of a woman and child killed in a Hercules police pursuit last year was “at the hands of another person, other than by accident,” Sheriff-Coroner David Livingston announced last week.
A coroner’s inquest is convened by Livingston in fatal incidents involving law enforcement. Jury members can choose from four options for the manner of death: accident, suicide, natural causes or at the hands of another person, other than by accident.
The family of 31-year-old Ryniqueka Dowell and 6-year-old Jamari Humble have filed a wrongful death lawsuit alleging the chase was “reckless and unreasonable,” and naming the driver of an allegedly stolen car, the city of Hercules and Contra Costa County as defendants.
Dowell was driving at Parker Avenue and Fourth Street with her 6-year-old twins on March 23, 2023, when the driver of a Mazda SUV ran a red light and crashed into them and fled on foot. Police set up a search perimeter, and Ralph Ellsworth White III was taken into custody shortly after.
Dowell died at the scene. Her son Jamari died four days later and his twin, Jamani, was seriously injured. Attorneys for Jeffrey Humble, Dowell’s husband and Jamari’s father, say a stolen car doesn’t justify risking the lives of bystanders to apprehend the driver.