Woman Tells Deputies They “Shouldn’t Have Pursued” Her After Deadly Stolen-Truck Chase

Image Credit: Code Blue Cam / YouTube. A police bodycam video circulating online is bringing renewed attention to a deadly 2024 pursuit in Washington that ended with an innocent passenger killed and two other people seriously injured.

The Sept. 7, 2024, incident began hours earlier with the theft of a pickup truck from a King County residence. Bodycam footage published by Code Blue Cam shows deputies taking the initial report before the stolen truck later surfaced roughly 60 miles south in Thurston County.

The driver was Nicole Rene Romanoff, then 33. By the end of the day, Romanoff had been arrested after a pursuit through the Olympia area ended in a head-on crash.

Nearly two years later, the case reached its conclusion in court: Romanoff pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and vehicular assault while under the influence of drugs and was sentenced in April 2026 to 275 months in prison — just under 23 years.

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The footage begins with King County deputies responding to the stolen Chevrolet Silverado shortly after 2 p.m.

The owner told deputies someone had taken the truck while he was working inside a house. A neighbor described seeing a woman walk onto the property, get into the truck and drive away.

Later that afternoon, Romanoff appeared in the east Lacey area, where residents reported a woman approaching homes and asking for fentanyl. One resident told her to leave, after which she drove toward the person and forced him to move out of the way, according to reporting based on the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office retelling to local news.

Deputies subsequently identified the vehicle she was driving as the stolen truck.

A deputy spotted Romanoff driving recklessly on Pacific Avenue Southeast and attempted to stop her.

Bodycam footage captures deputies calling out speeds and intersections as the pursuit moved through traffic. Spike strips struck the truck, but Romanoff continued driving even as one of its wheels deteriorated.

At one point, a deputy described sparks coming from the truck as it continued at highway speeds.

Romanoff later told police she believed they should have stopped pursuing her. At the crash scene, she repeatedly argued that deputies were not supposed to continue following her.

Washington had significantly restricted police pursuits in 2021, but lawmakers loosened those restrictions in June 2024, several months before the crash.

The pursuit ended on Pacific Avenue Southeast near Fones Road when Romanoff crossed into opposing traffic and struck a vehicle head-on.

Inside were Bruce Clark, his wife, and his wife’s sister, 70-year-old Gina Munna.

Munna had recently arrived in Washington to celebrate her sister’s birthday, according to KIRO 7.

The bodycam captures deputies shifting almost immediately from the pursuit to triage.

One deputy reported that the occupants of the other vehicle were the priority for firefighters and medics. Romanoff, meanwhile, complained of injuries and continued arguing that the pursuit should not have happened.

Munna was critically injured and later died.

Bruce Clark and his wife survived. Clark suffered a broken vertebra, while his wife suffered a broken vertebra and three broken ribs.

Even after the crash, Romanoff continued disputing the deputies’ actions.

“You guys shouldn’t have pursued me,” she told them in the footage.

When a deputy challenged her over the stolen truck and the injuries caused by the crash, Romanoff maintained that officers should have stopped following her.

Later that evening at a hospital, a Washington State Patrol detective told Romanoff she was under arrest.

The detective listed several offenses then under investigation, including vehicular homicide, vehicular assault, felony hit-and-run and possession of a stolen vehicle. Romanoff declined to give a statement about what had happened.

The case ultimately produced more serious charges.

Romanoff pleaded guilty Jan. 14, 2026, to second-degree murder and vehicular assault while under the influence of drugs, according to The Olympian.

Court filings described Romanoff as being high, confused and panicked when she realized deputies were trying to stop her. The filings also said she believed driving recklessly would cause law enforcement to abandon the pursuit.

A judge sentenced Romanoff on April 27 to 275 months in prison, followed by three years of community custody.

Thurston County Sheriff Derek Sanders said after sentencing that Romanoff had accumulated 47 prior arrests and had three active warrants when deputies encountered her in 2024.

Munna was a mother of two and grandmother of four.

The nearly 23-year prison sentence came more than a year and a half after the pursuit that killed her.

Olivia Richman has been a journalist for 10 years, specializing in esports, games, cars, and all things tech. When she isn’t writing nerdy stuff, Olivia is taking her cars to the track, eating pho, and playing the Pokemon TCG.

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