Woman identified in fatal crash following 100-mph chase had history of stealing cars

The coroner’s office has identified the woman who died Saturday morning after striking a pole in north Sacramento while allegedly fleeing police in a stolen vehicle, and court records show she was on probation following two recent convictions of vehicle theft in Sacramento County.

Celina Correa, 39, was pronounced dead at the scene near the 4100 block of Northgate Boulevard, where Sacramento police officers discovered the driver unresponsive and trapped inside a Toyota Camry, authorities said Saturday. A license plate check showed the Toyota had been reported stolen, police said.

Correa faced charges of felony vehicle theft in January 2017 and January 2019, according to Sacramento Superior Court records. The first was reduced to a misdemeanor, to which Correa pleaded no contest and received a sentence of three years’ informal probation. Correa pleaded no contest in January, which led to a sentence of five years’ formal probation.

Correa had reportedly led officers on a high-speed chase, topping 100 mph on Interstates 5 and 80 just after 5 a.m. Saturday.

Officers briefly lost sight of the Toyota as it drove over an I-80 overpass before finding the damaged vehicle at the corner of Tandy Drive and Northgate Boulevard, Sacramento Police Department spokesman Sgt. Vance Chandler said Saturday.

Fire crews extricated Correa from the Toyota, which was severely damaged, and she was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash.

This story was originally published April 9, 2019 at 7:18 AM.