Police Officer Isabel Santiago-Nazario

Isabel Santiago-Nazario

Police Officer Isabel Santiago-Nazario was killed when her patrol car was struck by a stolen SUV.

Officer Santiago-Nazario was on patrol when she and her partner learned of a vehicle pursuit in progress. Officers were pursing a Cadillac Escalade being operated by an unlicensed 16-year-old. As Officer Santiago-Nazario and her partner headed south on 39th Street, the Escalade, traveling east on Wallace Street, broadsided their cruiser near the passenger door. Officer Santiago-Nazario was killed instantly. Her partner was critically injured in the collision.

The driver of the Escalade was captured after a foot chase by other responding officers. On June 7, 2010, he pleaded guilty to third degree murder and was sentenced to 10 to 20 years in prison.

Police Officer Santiago-Nazario had served with the Philadelphia Police Department for 18 years and was assigned to the Narcotics Strike Force and detailed to the 16th Police District in West Philadelphia. She is survived by her daughter, fiancee, mother, and a sister.