The loved ones of a military veteran and college student killed in a car crash linked to a police chase say they want to work with lawmakers to prevent similar accidents.
Logan Harrel, 23, died Oct. 20 after 17-year-old Anthony Giancola struck the car she was traveling in with her mother on Highway 66 near 410 Road in Foyil. Police say Giancola, who said he was “hearing voices,” was in the midst of a “crime spree” that began in Missouri and involved the theft of several vehicles.
According to online documents, Giancola appeared with his parents in a Rogers County court Tuesday. He’s charged with first degree murder and six other offenses related to vehicle theft and eluding officers. He’s being held without bond after making his initial court appearance via phone from Craig County.
Logan’s mother, 50-year-old Kimberly Harrel, was hospitalized but has been released.
Giancola crashed into the Harrels after pursuing police reported deploying stop sticks near railroad tracks. It’s a choice Sheriff Scott Walton has publicly defended, telling News on 6, “We wanted to be that intervening factor, anything but an innocent person being hurt.”
Now, Harrel’s family is asking for help to make sure other families don’t lose loved ones to police chases. In a statement sent to Public Radio Tulsa Saturday, the family appealed to lawmakers to create a nationwide system called “Logan’s Alert.”
“A system that would alert drivers on the road when a high speed chase is approaching them and give them time to avoid such a tragedy as our family is enduring,” reads the statement.
According to data published by the San Francisco Chronicle, Oklahoma ranked sixth in the nation between 2017 and 2021 for number of deadly police pursuits.
Most fatal pursuits nationwide are started due to traffic infractions or nonviolent crimes, as in the case of Giancola.
Harrel was celebrated by about 200 well-wishers during a remembrance of life service Saturday held at Vinita High School. The cheerleader who loved wearing Crocs was memorialized as a beloved volunteer, friend and daughter with a conciliatory style.
Harrel graduated from VHS in 2019 and went on to serve in Kuwait during a four-year stint in the Army. After returning to Oklahoma, she used her military education benefits to study elementary education at Claremore’s Rogers State University. She was enrolled as a student at the time of her death.
