{"id":461235,"date":"2026-09-12T03:34:42","date_gmt":"2026-09-12T03:34:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/461235\/"},"modified":"2026-09-12T03:34:42","modified_gmt":"2026-09-12T03:34:42","slug":"family-speaks-out-amid-fatal-bakersfield-police-chase-in-oildale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/461235\/","title":{"rendered":"Family speaks out amid fatal Bakersfield police chase in Oildale"},"content":{"rendered":"

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) \u2014 The family of an innocent bystander who was killed in the chaos of a police chase on Sept. 5 is mourning the loss of their loved one while demanding answers from law enforcement. <\/p>\n

Kevin Daniel Stevens, 22<\/a>, was on a bench in Oildale in the early morning hours when a wanted suspect being chased by the Bakersfield Police Department drove at a high rate of speed down Airport Drive. BPD reportedly laid spike strips to stop the suspect, causing the suspect to crash into where Stevens was located, instantly killing him. The gruesome scene was captured on camera. His family is still struggling to cope<\/a>. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\t
\n\t\tControversy brews after pedestrian killed during Bakersfield police chase\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201c(I feel) grief, anger, confused, lost, just really confused thinking about the whole situation,\u201d said Chanel Stevens, Kevin Stevens\u2019 aunt. <\/p>\n

Chanel said he was more like a brother and died on his birthday, just five months after his mother. <\/p>\n

\"\"Kevin Daniel Stevens, 22, was killed as a bystander during a Bakersfield Police Department chase on Sept. 5, 2026. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I saw the phone number, I thought it was him. Cause he\u2019s the only one with the 6-6-1 area code,\u201d Chanel Stevens said. \u201cI answered it so excited to tell him happy birthday. But it wasn\u2019t him. It was the police department -them telling me that he\u2019s no longer with us. It\u2019s so upsetting to hear how he died.\u201d<\/p>\n

She blames BPD for putting her loved one in harm\u2019s way.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe police knew who they were chasing,\u201d Chanel Stevens said. \u201cThey knew who they were going after<\/a>. They should have backed down when they knew they were on public streets with people on them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t
\n\t\t2 charged after high-speed chase in Bakersfield that killed bystander\t<\/a><\/p>\n

According to BPD\u2019s policy manual<\/a>, officers should consider the risk of speed and swerving before using spike strips.<\/p>\n

17 News reached out to BPD, asking them what factors were considered before the spike strips were deployed and if this incident will change the way it approaches future pursuits. In response, BPD said in part: <\/p>\n

\u201cThe goal is not simply to catch a fleeing vehicle as quickly as possible; it is to safely resolve the incident while minimizing the danger to the public and our officers.\u201d<\/p>\n

BPD added: <\/p>\n

\u201cThe protection of life is at the heart of that commitment, and the loss of an innocent life is felt throughout our entire community. As with any critical incident, the circumstances of this pursuit will be thoroughly reviewed. We recognize the tragic loss of life and extend our condolences to the victim\u2019s family and everyone affected by this incident.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now, Chanel Stevens is focused on putting her nephew to rest. She set up a GoFundMe<\/a> to help with funeral expenses.<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, I barely got my sister buried,\u201d Chanel Stevens said. \u201cAnd now I have to bury her 22-year-old son \u2013 that turned 22 on the accident date. It\u2019s just unbelievable. Like I said, it\u2019s like a horror movie.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) \u2014 The family of an innocent bystander who was killed in the chaos of a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":461236,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[151,153,152],"class_list":["post-461235","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bakersfield","tag-bakersfield","tag-bakersfield-headlines","tag-bakersfield-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/461235","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=461235"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/461235\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/461236"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=461235"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=461235"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=461235"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}