Father questions mental evaluation, treatment of son prior to crashes

July 27--One week after allegedly stealing three vehicles and causing a series of collisions in Yuba City, Klinton Harlan remains hospitalized with a tube in his lung, a new jaw mandible and a replaced hip. He cannot communicate.

While his father is dealing with the fact that his 24-year-old son caused hurt and damage to himself and others, he also believes some of it could have been prevented if his son's mental health had been better evaluated.

According to Harlan's father, Kevin Harlan, before the incidents in Yuba City, the California Highway Patrol and Redding police had dealt with Klinton Harlan -- and he had been hospitalized twice and arrested once and released.

On Tuesday afternoon, July 18, Klinton Harlan first stole his father's car and was in an accident with it at Highway 99 and Franklin Road; then took a Caltrans truck and trailer and was in a wreck with that at Highway 99 and Bridge Street; and then hijacked a Prius -- with a passenger still inside -- and allegedly caused a third accident at Highway 20 and Tharp Road.

In all, a dozen vehicles were damaged and more than a dozen people were involved, according to the CHP. In addition to Klinton Harlan, three others were transported to the hospital with injuries.

He will most likely face charges of carjacking, vehicle theft, kidnapping, and hit-and-run, according to Yuba City police.

According to Redding CHP spokesperson Jason Morton, the department handled an incident involving Klinton Harlan on Monday, July 17. He was taken to Mercy Medical Center for mental health concerns.

Kevin Harlan said the hospital contacted him and Klinton Harlan's mother to ask questions about their son's mental health -- but that was after he had already been released.

"I do believe if the hospital held him longer, there would be no damage and we would figure out why the first police officer sent (him) into the hospital for a mental evaluation," Kevin Harlan said in a Facebook message.

Marc Dadigan, supervising community education specialist for the Shasta County Health and Human Services Agency, said the department cannot comment on a specific patient. The department has mental health staff co-located within Mercy Medical Center's emergency department to conduct evaluations.

He said the department follows statewide policy in evaluating, holding or releasing a mental health patient. According to the state welfare and institutions code, a patient can be taken into a 72-hour hold if they are determined to be a danger to others or themselves or are "gravely disabled."

When determining if probable cause exists to take a person into custody, "available relevant information" about the historical course of the person's mental health should be considered, if that information has reasonable bearing on the determination. Evidence can come from the patient, family members, or the person providing mental health services.

Kevin Harlan and two friends were trying to track down his son, though they seemed to always be one step behind. After being released from the hospital in Redding, Klinton Harlan was arrested near Redding'sCity Hall, where he had been banging on the windows and claiming he was trying to steal a vehicle to get back home to his mother in Oregon, according to Redding Police.

Kevin Harlan said his son was taken to a different, nearby hospital before he was booked into the Shasta County Jail. He doesn't know if the son was taken to that second hospital to treat his bloodied hands or if it was for another mental evaluation.

Once the father finally met up with the son outside of the jail the morning of Tuesday, July 18, it was apparent Klinton Harlan was not himself: his clothes were splattered with blood, he was pacing, his face was beat up and puffy, he had a dirty, stitched-up wound and he seemed "animalistic."

After arriving home in Nicolaus, Kevin Harlan said his son got combative with him and eventually stole the vehicle to try to drive back up to Oregon.

Though Harlan didn't seem to have any obvious signs of mental health issues before, his father is convinced this recent breakdown was triggered by the death of a grandmother.

One day before the Yuba City collisions, he was pacing and talking to himself, saying he needed sleep, and telling his father he wished he could have helped his grandmother more when she was sick.

He said his son has also suffered from a number of concussions as an accomplished high school football player and a mixed martial arts fighter.

He said the most frustrating part of the ordeal was the hospital releasing his son when he should have been held longer.

"All they had to do was hold him another 20 minutes before (I arrived)," Kevin Harlan said in a phone interview Wednesday.

He speculated that 72-hour mental health evaluation holds may cost local municipalities too much money, which is a societal problem.

"Klint got caught up in the middle," Kevin Harlan said. "It's so screwed up."

CONTACT Rachel Rosenbaum at 749-4771 and on Twitter @RaeRosenbaum.

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