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East Bay familys terrifying encounter with man in underwear trying to get into their car on I-880
An East Bay husband and father shares dashcam video and describes terrifying encounter with man wearing only underwear on Interstate 880 in Oakland.
OAKLAND, Calif. - An East Bay family is shaken up after a frightening encounter on a freeway.
A man ran towards their car on Interstate 880 in Oakland on Monday about 10 p.m. at the 23rd exit and tried to open the door while a Jonathan Tsai, his wife, and their two young children were inside.
He was wearing only his underwear.
The ordeal was captured on dashcam video.
Tsai's wife, who was driving, had pulled to a stop when she saw other cars swerving.
Suddenly, a man dressed only in briefs, ran up to the car and tried to open the front passenger door where the 39-year-old was sitting.
His two children were in the back seat.
"I didn't know if he was holding a gun, pointing at us as just slow walking and then a run. I'm like terrified," Tsai told KTVU on Wednesday.
As his wife resumed driving , Tsai said the man hung onto the car door.
"We're not going to sit around and just be sitting ducks. And so it felt like an eternity. I went back to the dashcam video and replayed it over and over and over and noticed it was only 8 seconds," said Tsai.
The software engineer described the man as being 5 feet 6 inches to 5 feet 8 inches tall, with a muscular build.
"He had this scowl on his face, like he wanted to do us harm," said Tsai.
A short while later, the California Highway Patrol recovered a stolen vehicle off Grand Avenue.
The CHP said a man matching the description of the suspect in Tsai's case, had jumped on the hood of a vehicle on Interstate 880, damaged the windshield, and carjacked the vehicle when the driver got out of his car.
He was safely picked up by his girlfriend who had been driving in a separate vehicle.
The CHP said they are still looking for the suspect.
"They were able to follow him for a short bit before they lost visual of him. Units were able to place the entire license plate into a system, and we were able to see that it exited Grant Avenue," said CHP Officer Adib Zeid.
The CHP said it still needs to confirm that the same man is responsible for both incidents.
"This is not something that you ever prepare for. And my wife is like we're not driving 880 any more. When we come to San Francisco, we'll take 101," said Tsai.
Amber Lee is a reporter with KTVU. Email Amber at Amber.Lee@Fox.com or text/leave message at 510-599-3922. Follow her on Facebook @AmberKTVU, Instagram @AmberKTVU or Twitter @AmberKTVU