MARSHALL COUNTY, Iowa (KCRG) – The Marshall County Sheriff’s Office on Monday released more information about a pursuit that ended in a head-on crash Friday on Highway 30 in Cedar Rapids, killing 36-year-old Garrett Sager and 16-year-old Kayan Williams.
The sheriff’s office said a deputy stopped Sager on 18th Avenue in Marshalltown for speeding and equipment violations. After collecting his license and vehicle information, the deputy learned Sager had an active arrest warrant in Story County.
According to Chief Deputy Ben Veren, the warrant was issued in 2016 for failing to attend or complete a court-mandated harassment prevention class.
When the deputy and another officer told Sager to get out of the car, he refused and drove away, according to the sheriff’s office.
The pursuit continued along Highway 30 through Tama and Benton counties before ending in Cedar Rapids.
Chief Deputy Veren also said the patrol vehicle that stopped the pursuit was not with the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office.
The sheriff’s office said it is investigating the pursuit as part of standard agency practice. The Iowa State Patrol is conducting a separate investigation into the pursuit and crash.
Expert weighs in on pursuit decisions
A law enforcement practices expert who reviewed video of Friday’s chase said the decisions officers made, including when to intervene, deserve further review.
Dr. Ron Martinelli, a former police officer who provides expert testimony on police procedures, said the driver posed a danger to the public as he traveled the wrong way on Highway 30.
“It is very foreseeable if your armed suspect driver is driving in the opposite lanes of traffic against traffic that he could run into somebody and they would be injured or killed,” Martinelli said.
Martinelli also discussed the risks of using a PIT maneuver at high speeds. “When you’re going to use a PIT maneuver at over 40 miles an hour, that could be considered as an application of deadly force,” he said.
Iowa State Patrol policy says its officers shall not follow a fleeing driver going the wrong way on a fully controlled-access road. It remains unclear whether that policy applied to the officers involved in the chase.
Martinelli said investigators should examine what other options officers had, including whether they could have backed off and looked for the driver later.
Copyright 2026 KCRG. All rights reserved.