Teen driver killed by deputy in Carmichael had no license

The 17-year-old driver shot and killed by a Sacramento County sheriff’s deputy Saturday night in Carmichael after a chase through neighborhoods did not have a driver’s license, and authorities still are investigating what he was doing in the area, officials said Monday.

Records from the California Department of Motor Vehicles state that Sergey Makarenko began the process of applying for a license but never followed up.

His mother, Nadezhda Makarenko, said in a brief telephone interview with The Sacramento Bee that her son was driving a car the family owned but declined to comment further.

Authorities say they do not know what Makarenko, whose family lives in the Natomas area, was doing when he was spotted driving erratically near El Camino and Walnut avenues about 11 p.m. Saturday.

Sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. Tony Turnbull said Makarenko was seen speeding in and out of traffic in the area and led deputies on a four- to five-minute chase that ended on Horton Lane, a street that dead-ends in what Turnbull described as a tight space.

Four deputies positioned themselves behind Makarenko’s compact car and ordered him to get out of the vehicle, Turnbull said.

Instead, Turnbull said, the driver suddenly threw the car into reverse and began accelerating toward the deputies, who were 10 to 15 yards away.

One deputy, a 12-year veteran of the department, fired, killing Makarenko. No weapons were found inside the car, and Turnbull said the department had no previous contacts with Makarenko.

The deputy who fired at the car has been placed on paid leave as part of the department’s standard policy while the shooting is investigated by homicide detectives and the professional standards division. The incident also will be reviewed by the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office and the inspector general, Turnbull said.

This story was originally published June 20, 2016 at 1:02 PM with the headline "Teen driver killed by deputy in Carmichael had no license."