Freedom High School Student’s Death Ruled “Accident” During Coroners Inquest

On Friday, Sheriff-Coroner David O. Livingston announced that a Coroner’s jury reached a finding in the December 15, 2015 death of 16-year-old Torry Shandell Hines Jr. of Antioch. The finding of the jury is that the death is an accident.

Hines was the passenger of a vehicle that was being pursued by Oakley police officers. The vehicle left the roadway and hit an electrical pole and fire hydrant before coming to rest. The vehicle was engulfed in flames. Hines was found deceased in the vehicle.

The Coroner’s Jury reached a verdict after hearing the testimony of witnesses called by the hearing officer, Matt Guichard.

A Coroner’s inquest, which Sheriff-Coroner Livingston convenes in fatal incidents involving police officers, is a public hearing, during which a jury rules on the manner of a person’s death. Jury members can choose from the following four options when making their finding:

• Accident
• Suicide
• Natural Causes
• At the hands of another person, other than by accident

Last December, the Oakley Police Department released the following information:

The Oakley Police Department announced Wednesday that Javonte Mathis, 22 of Concord, has been booked in the Martinez Detention Facility after failing to yield to police before the fatal crash occurred.

On Tuesday at about 8:27 AM, an Oakley Police Officer was performing traffic enforcement in the area of Main Street and Bridgehead Road when he saw a white Toyota run a stop sign. The officer attempted to make a traffic stop, but the vehicle did not yield and sped away at high speed. The pursuit went westbound on E. 18th Street in the city of Antioch. Between Wilson Street and Phillips Lane, with the nearest police car several hundred yards behind, the vehicle collided with a power pole and a fire hydrant and caught fire. The driver of the vehicle fled on foot. The fire department and PG&E were notified.

Officers later spotted the driver nearby entering a vehicle. He was taken into custody without incident and went to a local hospital for injuries apparently sustained during the collision. Mathis has been booked into the Martinez Detention Facility on two charges: murder and evasion causing death to a person. He is being held in lieu of $1.1 million bail.

It was later discovered that inside the vehicle was a deceased passenger. The identification is not available as the Coroner’s Division and the Crime Lab are working on positively identifying that person.

Officers recovered a loaded semiautomatic pistol near the burned vehicle. It was later determined that the gun was stolen.