If a cop crashes and dies when chasing someone, should the person being chased be held responsible for the cop's death?

[Towlie]

Broward (Florida) man arrested after deaths of FHP trooper, truck driver in high-speed pursuit on I-95

A day after a Florida Highway Patrol trooper and a truck driver were killed during a pursuit on Interstate 95 in St. Lucie County, the man who led the trooper on the pursuit has been arrested in the two deaths.

The suspect in Friday’s chase, Michael Anthony Addison, 30, is from Broward County. He is facing charges of vehicular homicide, felony homicide, driving without a license causing death, aggravated fleeing and eluding with death, among others, the Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles said in a statement Saturday afternoon.

A St. Lucie County deputy initially tried to stop the suspect early Friday because he was driving at twice the speed limit, but the deputy called it off several minutes later. Trooper Zachary Fink, 26, then resumed the pursuit, trying to stop the driver out of concern he was endangering others, Col. Gary Howze, who heads the Florida Highway Patrol, said.

The suspect made an abrupt U-turn into the opposite direction of traffic on I-95, and Fink followed, turning into the path of a tractor-trailer. The truck’s driver and Fink both died.

The "suspect" here is clearly a bad guy, but does it seem right that he should be held responsible for the deaths of the cop and the truck driver? Are the "causing death" and "with death" aspects of these charges fair? Or does it perhaps seem more logical that the cop should be held responsible for his own death as well as the death of the truck driver? Doesn't it seem a bit ironic that out of concern that someone was endangering others, the cop killed an innocent truck driver?

[bucolic_frolic]

1. Police make a decision to pursue

They are supposed to pursue prudently. Who can tell how that shakes out from here? No video, yet. Did the driver cause the pursuit? In a sense, yes. Were there other ways to arrest the driver? If they got a license plate they could have visited his residence later.

[MichMan]

2. "The suspect made an abrupt U-turn into the opposite direction of traffic on I-95"

Going the wrong way down a freeway endangering hundreds of other motorists.

[SarahD]

3. Pursuit causes problems.

High speed chases are dangerous. They just encourage the fleeing driver to speed up and take more chances. It's much better to keep track of the suspect vehicle and wait for a good opportunity to stop it, or wait for it to break down, run out of gas, etc. Yes, a speeding vehicle is dangerous, but adding more speeding vehicles only adds to the danger. But the suspect should be charged with a bunch of crimes because he did endanger the public.

[GreenWave]

4. The officer is responsible for safely driving the police car.

The charges seem ridiculously piled on.
Driving without a license causing death????

[getagrip_already]

5. Seems reasonable to me - always been this way

A death caused in the commission of a felony is murder.

I'm fine with that.

Too many assholes treat a car like a get away scene from a movie with total disregard for anyone else's safety.

If they cause a death, even of a pursuing officer, it's on them.

Pull over and surrender asshole.

[Dr. Strange]

6. Agreed.