Woman killed during high-speed police chase

A female driver pursued by a Sonoma County Sheriff was killed when her car rammed into a brick wall at the Hannah Boys Center.
Authorities said Gretchen Emis, 36, was thrown on impact from the vehicle, which then burst in to flames. She died at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital.
The deadly encounter began at 1:26 a.m on Feb. 17. A deputy sheriff on patrol spotted a suspicious vehicle, Smith’s red 1998 Chevrolet Monte Carlo, parked in front of the Sonoma Valley Fire Station on Agua Caliente Road.
Emis was alone in the car with the engine running. The deputy began questioning her and noted, reported Lt. Bob McMenomey, she exhibited signs of being under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
Emis suddenly sped off, heading westbound on Agua Caliente Road. The deputy jumped in his squad car and gave chase, the report said, at a high rate of speed.
The pursuit continued for nearly a mile. Emis, who had turned her car lights off, sped through the four-way stop intersection at Agua Caliente and Arnold Drive and careened into the brick wall at the entrance to the Boys Center.
The investigation is being conducted by the California Highway Patrol and the Sonoma County District Attorneys Office.