Suspected burglars hurt after high-speed chase through Tulare County ends in crash

Tuesday, July 26, 2016
Suspected burglars hurt after high-speed chase through Tulare County ends in crash
The suspects have been identified as 22-year-old Vannessa De La Cruz and 23-year-old Nneka Ford Langley, both of Washington.

TULARE COUNTY (KFSN) -- The pursuit exceeded speeds of 100 miles per hour but didn't last very long.

The women leading Visalia Police and the California Highway Patrol on the chase were suspects in a residential burglary that happened around 1 p.m. Monday

"Also collided with another vehicle, causing appears to be a rollover of the suspect vehicle, both occupants of the vehicle were ejected and have been transported to local hospitals for treatment of their injuries," Sgt. John Pree with the Visalia Police Department said.

The suspects have been identified as 22-year-old Vannessa De La Cruz and 23-year-old Nneka Ford Langley, both of Washington.

Police say the car they were driving was stolen out of Redding and Langley had a warrant out for her arrest.

"Yeah, everybody's okay on the lot enforcement side, there are no injured civilians in this," Pree said. "We're aware of the suspects and the occupants of the vehicles are the only ones that sustained injuries as a result of their actions"

Visalia Police say they responded to a residential burglary where an attentive neighbor, an off-duty police officer, noticed what was going on.

"But the neighbors interrupted, he happened to be a Fresno cop," homeowner Elias Hattar said.

Hattar believes the burglary suspects broke into his garage by backing up into it with their vehicle.

They were trying to load a flat screen TV into it when the off-duty officer confronted them but they got away and hit three other cars during their pursuit, causing some minor injuries.

The homeowner says he's never been victimized like this before:

"Now probably when I come home to sleep tonight I probably don't feel safe anymore," Hattar said. "It's a gated community, I've been here almost six years."