Sometimes police chases turn out deadly

In a San Joaquin Valley community, a tragic accident over the weekend has police re-evaluating their pursuit policy. A high-speed chase left eight dead, including five children.

It started in the city of Dinuba, when a police officer was going to make a routine traffic stop Saturday afternoon. The car took off, with the three youthful occupants determined to evade police.

It turned out that the car was stolen. A few miles down the road, the car blew a stop sign and struck a pickup carrying a family of seven to a youth football game. The children -- ages 1 to 8 -- were ejected and died.

The three in the stolen car - ages 16, 17 and 19 -- also were killed.

High-speed chases almost always end badly. It's better in most circumstances to let the crooks go. They'll soon be caught, either via radio or police helicopter. But these crashes are deadly because of the speed of the cars colliding.

This is a lesson that we must still learn.