New video of police chase, crash that killed 2-year-old girl

SHARE New video of police chase, crash that killed 2-year-old girl
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Still from a Chicago police body camera video showing the aftermath of the March 3 crash that killed 2-year-old Danyla Owens at 107th Street and Calumet Avenue. | Civilian Office of Police Accountability

A police oversight agency has released videos showing a police chase that led to a crash that killed a toddler in March in Roseland on the Far South Side.

Police body camera video released Thursday by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability shows the aftermath of the March 3 crash that killed 2-year-old Danyla Owens, with debris and wreckage from two vehicles scattered across Calumet Avenue and 107th Street.

The girl was riding unsecured in the back seat of a 1999 Chrysler driven by her father, Donell Davis, when a police officer in an unmarked car saw him driving the wrong way on a one-way section of 103rd Street, prosecutors said after Davis’ arrest.

Davis drove away when the officer tried to pull him over, running several traffic lights and stop signs before colliding with a 2002 Acura in the intersection of 107th and Calumet, prosecutors said.

After the initial collision, the car careened into a fire hydrant and light pole with such force that the car was split in half.

A car can be seen swerving around traffic and through the intersection, pursued by a police vehicle, at approximately 1:30 in the video above.

Danyla was thrown from the vehicle and into the street, prosecutors said. Officers performed CPR on the toddler and rushed her to Roseland Hospital in a squad car, but she was pronounced dead of her injuries shortly after arriving.

Two people in the Acura were taken to a hospital for treatment, prosecutors said.

Officers found a gun with an extended magazine in the Chrysler after the crash, police and prosecutors said. Davis, of Roseland, was out on bond from a felony drug possession case at the time.

Davis is charged with reckless homicide, reckless driving, unauthorized use of a weapon, driving without a license and several traffic violations.

Donell Davis was arrested after he allegedly led police on a chase that resulted in a crash that killed his daughter, Danyla Owens, 2. | Police; Facebook

Donell Davis was arrested after he allegedly led police on a chase that resulted in a crash that killed his daughter, Danyla Owens, 2. | Police; Facebook

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