Fortuna Police Department press release:

On Thursday, August 20, the Fortuna Police Department was conducting residential patrol checks and traffic related enforcement near the Strong Creek Estates area in Fortuna, California.

Police had been receiving numerous complaints from citizens regarding traffic violations that had been occurring frequently near the Strong Creek location.

At about 10:56 a.m., a Fortuna Police Officer observed a Ford sedan driving on the wrong side of the roadway. The officer conducted an enforcement stop on the vehicle at the intersection of Rohnerville Road and Newburg Road.

As a result of the stop, the driver was determined to be 65-year-old, Sandra Lynn Morvan, a resident of Fortuna, California. Morvan was subsequently issued a citation for violations of the California Vehicle Code and was released.

As Morvan drove away from the initial stop, she proceeded back onto Rohnerville Road and began driving in the wrong lane. Concerned for the safety of the public, police attempted another enforcement stop on Morvan to further assess why Morvan was continuing to violate the rules of the road.

After attempting the secondary traffic enforcement stop, Morvan was purposely and intentionally non-compliant and failed to yield to the officer initiating the stop.

Her intentional non-compliance was discovered and established during an interview following the pursuit. Morvan drove with a wanton disregard for the safety of the public, jeopardized her own personal safety, and the safety of the officers who were exercising due diligence to preserve public safety.

After committing several unsafe traffic violations including but not limited to: excessive speed for prevailing conditions and failure to maintain lanes, Morvan finally yielded to officers near the 700 block of 14th Street in Fortuna. By the time Morvan yielded, she had already driven through a section of town that is frequently populated by foot and vehicle traffic and utilized on a daily basis by Fortuna businesses. During Morvan’s arrest she made a number of spontaneous statements including threatening statements referring to suicide by cop.

Morvan was subsequently arrested and transported to the Humboldt County Correctional Facility where she was booked on the following violations.

•  2800.2 CVC- Felony evasion 
• 23103(a) CVC- Reckless driving

Additional charges may be filed with the Humboldt County District Attorney’s Office. Any questions regarding this incident can be directed to the Patrol Commander, Lieutenant Matt Eberhardt at (707)-725-7550.