On August 20, 2014, Boone County Sheriff Deputy Robert Rosenkranz was patrolling around 7:30 PM when he was alerted to a white Pontiac believed to be involved in an armed robbery at a U.S. Cellular store in Belvidere. According to reports, two suspects had entered the store, tied up employees, and stolen cash before fleeing with a driver in the Pontiac.
Rosenkranz located the vehicle, made a U turn, and initiated a high speed pursuit that exceeded 110 MPH. The chase lasted over six minutes through both rural and city roads and eventually moved toward the Cherry Valley area. Rosenkranz stated he would have continued the pursuit into Wisconsin or even Minnesota had his supervisor not ordered it terminated.
As the chase entered the Cherry Valley/Belvidere area, additional law enforcement units joined. The pursuit ended just outside the CherryVale Mall when the Pontiac crashed into a Honda Civic driven by Karen Williams, who was leaving the mall.
Karen Williams, a 42 year old corporate lawyer originally from Taiwan but raised in Rockford, suffered fatal injuries and died about a week later.
The Winnebago Boone County Integrity Task Force investigated and ruled the incident justified.