i9 Investigation: Fatal Highway 30 chase fits pattern of pursuits over low-level crimes

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) - A fatal crash on Highway 30 last week started when deputies pulled over a Nebraska man for speeding.

The chase and crash killed the man, Garrett Sager, 36, and the driver of another car, 16-year-old Kayan Williams.

What led to the chase

A deputy pulled over Sager on Friday afternoon. Officers learned he had a Story County warrant for his arrest dating to 2016. The warrant was for failing to complete a court-mandated program.

When officers confronted Sager about the warrant, he drove off.

Video shows Sager leading police on a chase the wrong way down Highway 30. In the video, police attempt a PIT maneuver on Sager’s car, which led him to crash into Williams.

Williams’ funeral is Saturday in Cedar Rapids.

Pattern in police pursuits

Sager’s chase follows a pattern found in a yearlong investigation into police pursuits: police chasing suspects who are wanted for low-level crimes. The pattern is also seen nationwide, in which someone wanted for a low-level crime leads police on a pursuit and an innocent bystander is hurt or killed.

Amber Martinez, of Urbandale, was in a similar situation in 2016, when a man fleeing an Iowa State Trooper crashed into her vehicle.

“I feel like a burden, and there are lots of days I wish I hadn’t survived,” Martinez said.

According to research studies, a police chase ends with no injuries about 80% of the time. When someone is injured, almost half the time it is an innocent person who is killed or severely injured, as in the cases of Williams and Martinez.

That statistic rose 5 percent between 2023 and 2024, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

“This kind of thing is incredibly dangerous to the public,” said Molly Hamilton, a personal injury attorney.

Training on pursuits

Maj. Chris Smith of the Linn County Sheriff’s Office said his department trains on pursuits annually. The training includes when to call off a chase. Smith spoke about the training in an interview earlier this summer.

“You get somebody hurt doing something you shouldn’t be doing or use an amount of force that you shouldn’t be using on somebody, that’s the fastest way to get a lawsuit or lose your job, or worse, go to jail,” Smith said.

Martinez said, “What I am going through is torture.”

Investigation

The Iowa State Patrol is the agency investigating the incident. A spokesperson said the agency is still working to gather more information about the officers involved and that the investigation is ongoing.