Three early-morning car chases spark frantic Bay Area freeways for police, commuters
OAKLAND, Calif. - A rash of separate car chases on Bay Area freeways early Thursday morning sparked frantic freeways for police and commuters out on the road.
The California Highway Patrol said there were at least three car chases in San Francisco, Oakland and Lafayette – with the first starting as early as 2 a.m.
In two of the chases, the drivers got away.
The first car chase was reported about 2 a.m. in San Francisco, after an officer was dragged by auto-burglary suspects taking off near 43rd Avenue and Irving Street in the Sunset District. That pursuit ended up going across the Bay Bridge at speeds of more than 100 mph. That suspect got away, the CHP said.
In the second chase, the CHP said a group of nine teens were spotted in a stolen Hyundai Tucson in West Oakland. The CHP then chased that car about 3 a.m. to Bergedo Drive and Edes Avenue in the Sobrante Park neighborhood in East Oakland.
Two of the teens ran away, authorities said. The other seven were released to their parents and guardians. The CHP said three of the teens will be recommended for charging.
One of the parents who was picking up their child from the scene mentioned their daughter ran away from home two weeks ago.
No one was injured but three CHP cars were struck and damaged, including a mangled SUV, police said.
Five other vehicles were also damaged, the CHP said. Video at the scene shows it looked like a parked minivan looked like it had been sideswiped.
Then, about 4:30 a.m., video shows a police chase a car on Highway 24 from Lafayette into Oakland. A CHP officer said officers were chasing a stolen car from Pittsburg, but they lost the car, which was later found abandoned on Highway 13 in Oakland.
These three chases come after another high-speed chase in Oakland on Wednesday afternoon, some of which was captured on aerial video.
That chase began in Oakland and ended on Highway 24, when three suspects jumped out of a stolen Dodge Charger after crashing near the Telegraph Avenue exit in Oakland. All of them were later arrested.