A driver has been sentenced to 13 years in state prison for a police-chase crash in Pittsburg, California, that killed a young woman and seriously injured her fiancé, a former University of California, Berkeley football player. The crash happened in the early-morning hours of March 23, 2025, when California Highway Patrol officers pursued a stolen Infiniti sedan traveling more than 100 mph on Highway 4. The driver exited the freeway, ran a red light, and slammed into an SUV carrying 23-year-old Vilamalia Polina Tu’ipulotu and her fiancé Beaux Tagaloa near East Leland Road and Gladstone Drive. Tu’ipulotu died at the scene; Tagaloa, a former Cal football player and coach at Diablo Valley College, was hospitalized in critical condition.
According to the East Bay Times, the driver was sentenced to 13 years for his role in the fatal chase and crash, closing out a case that drew heavy scrutiny of high-speed police pursuits through Bay Area neighborhoods. ABC7 News reported that the couple had just left a family gathering when their SUV was struck, and that a GoFundMe campaign for Tu’ipulotu’s funeral costs raised more than $38,000. The Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office led the criminal investigation with help from CHP and the Pittsburg Police Department. Cal Athletics said in a statement at the time that its thoughts were with Tagaloa and his loved ones.
