Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.
QUESTION: A woman named LaTanya McCoy was killed in a car crash. Could you tell me what happened?
Submitted by: c nite, Oregon
ANSWER: LaTanya Janelle McCoy, a 24-year-old hospital employee en route to work, was killed on Mack Road when a parolee crashed into her car, then engaged in a shoot-out with police, seriously wounding an officer.
McCoy's car burst into flames after it was rammed by a Chevrolet Camaro driven by David Scott Daniels on Jan. 2, 2000. McCoy, who left a 2-year-old daughter, had reportedly attended high school in Stockton and moved to Sacramento a few years before her death.
Daniels had past convictions for burglary and robbery and was trying to elude police following a 35-day spree of murder and robbery, according to an account in The Bee.
After crashing into McCoy's car, Daniels screamed for help, claiming he was pinned and bleeding in his car. A Sacramento police officer grabbed a bulletproof shield and led three other officers toward Daniels' car. When they got within a foot of the car, Daniels began shooting. He hit Sgt. Steve Weinrich in the chest and thigh. Weinrich was saved by his bulletproof vest.
In addition to McCoy's death, Daniels was convicted of the Dec. 28, 1999, murder of LeWayne Alan Carolina, 23, who he shot to death in a south Sacramento apartment, and the attempted murder of Weinrich.
He was sentenced in 2001 to die by lethal injection. Now 44 years old, he remains on death row at San Quentin State Prison.
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