OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — A bystander who was sent to the hospital after her car was hit during a police chase is speaking out against shoplifters in the Overland Park and Olathe areas.
The chase that led to the wreck was started by shoplifters and the victim, Christina Cecchini, says her car was totaled when the suspects ran through a red light and hit her as police chased after them.
"It just keeps playing back in my mind when that car is hitting me," she said. "All the sudden, 'bam,' it just, I didn't see anything approaching. Nothing. I was just driving, and it hit me, and the airbags came out, and I spun around, and I immediately grabbed my wrist."
Cecchini's still healing physically and emotionally after the wreck, but she isn't looking to move on anytime soon.
"I just don't want the story to be reported and then go away," she said. "This is a problem that's escalating."
She's not talking about the chase; she's talking about what started it earlier that day.
She brings up repeat shoplifting offenders she's heard about working at some of the shopping centers herself.
It's a rising trend KSHB has been reporting on for months. She wants to see more officers in shopping centers focused solely on loss prevention.
"This is not just about being safe going shopping it's about being safe going out in your community," she said.
She gives a message to the suspects of past present and future — it is not a victimless crime.
"People don't understand that this is the consequence of it and it could've been so much worse," she said.
Overland Park Police say officers weren't chasing the suspects because they shoplifted, they were chasing because the driver hit one of the officer's car when they tried to pull her over on the initial stop.
Officer John Lacy, with the Overland Park Police Department, says they're working to help cut back on theft during the busy shopping season.
"We have our school resource officers, they're going to be out of school here in the next couple of weeks and we're going to deploy them at area shopping centers in Overland Park," he said.
It's a temporary answer to Cecchini's question of what changes, but she's looking for a more permanent fix.
She says she'll be going to city council once her arm heals to put pressure on the city for more patrols around shopping centers.
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