A group of riders on more than 70 ATVs and dirt bikes disrupted traffic Sunday evening when they took a round-trip joy ride on the Bay Bridge before being intercepted by police, causing significant delays for drivers.

The group of over 70 dirt bikes and all-terrain vehicles first departed Oakland for San Francisco early Sunday evening, where they stayed for 45 minutes to an hour, as KRON4 reports.

They were on their way back east when the Oakland Police Department, with the help of the SFPD and the California Highway Patrol, intercepted them on the “decline” portion of the eastern side of the bridge a little before 5:45 pm, according to the Chronicle.

The riders all fled the scene, some on foot after abandoning their dirt bikes, and at least two were arrested. NBC Bay Area reports that one person had to be rescued from the Bay, after they jumped from the bridge while evading police.

Oakland police impounded the abandoned bikes, which were reportedly carted away on a Caltrans tow truck.

All eastbound lanes were initially closed before authorities reopened two lanes, per the Chronicle. All lanes were cleared around 7:15 pm, and traffic flow was almost back to normal by 8 pm.

Image: Oakland Police Department/X

New details from last year’s fatal police chase in East Oakland revealed that police may have treated Oakland teacher Marvin Boomer’s girlfriend Nina Woodruff, who was also a bystander seriously injured in the crash, as a suspect and failed to give her treatment at the scene.

Michelle Bernard, an attorney for the family of Marvin Boomer, the Oakland math teacher and bystander who was killed in a horrific crash caused by a suspect fleeing authorities last May, as well as his girlfriend Nina Woodruff, intends to file lawsuits against the California Highway Patrol and the Oakland Police Department this week after receiving no response from the city of Oakland over a legal claim she filed last fall, as Oaklandside reports.

In last fall’s legal filing, Bernard claimed negligence by the city of Oakland over poor road conditions, including a nearby sinkhole, along with the manner in which Oakland police officers responded after the crash. Bernard says CHP also contributed to the crash, claiming officers should have called off the pursuit.

Bernard said in the legal filing that she’s seeking damages between $10 and $18 million for Woodruff’s pain and suffering, which included a traumatic brain injury, a broken arm and other bones, and post-traumatic stress disorder, with a similar estimate for CHP

“The City of Oakland and the California Highway Patrol created the danger,” Bernard wrote in the legal claim, per Oaklandside. “The City of Oakland and the California Highway Patrol are responsible for the consequences.”

In the claim, Bernard provided updated information about the crash, including the fact that neighbors had been filing reports with the city for years about a large sinkhole at the intersection where Boomer was killed. Bernard says that the suspect, Eric Hernandez Garcia was driving “close to 100 miles per hour” that day, and “physics took control” when he hit the sinkhole, according to Oaklandside.

Oaklandside reports that photo and video evidence of the scene from the legal filing shows that Hernandez Garcia first hit a nearby fire hydrant, shearing it completely off, which struck Boomer’s upper body and also may have hit Woodruff. Hernandez Garcia’s car also appears to have come within inches of striking the couple.

“Impact. Violence. Silence. Then screaming. The sound of metal hitting human bone echoed across the street. Pieces of the fire hydrant sheared off and exploded upward as a geyser of water blasted into the air,” Bernard wrote.

The legal filing claims that Oakland police officers failed to provide Woodruff with medical treatment or support when they arrived at the scene, and they allegedly considered her a suspect, leading her to panic and wander off, bleeding and disoriented, until a nearby resident took her to the hospital, per Oaklandside.

“Witnesses heard officers suggest she might have been in the Infiniti that caused the crash. This led Nina — concussed, terrified, bleeding, and in shock — to wander away from the scene instead of receiving medical care,“ Bernard wrote.

Additionally, Bernard names CHP in the claim, alleging that officers pursued Hernandez Garcia at unsafe speeds, failed to perform a risk assessment in a residential neighborhood, and missed two chances to detain him safely. As SFist reported last year, CHP had previously called off the high-speed chase well before the collision, but per the Oaklandside, troopers continued to track and follow him, which Bernard alleges may have frightened Hernandez Garcia, causing him to continue speeding.

Previously: Highway Patrol Releases Video of Oakland Car Chase Crash That Took the Life of Innocent Bystander Schoolteacher

Image: Attachment from the legal filing/Oaklandside

CHP’s investigation into an incident involving San Leandro Police Chief Angela Averiett, who’s accused of clipping a car on I-580 — knocking its side mirror with hers, found that the damage was consistent on both cars’ mirrors, but no charges were ever filed.

ABC 7’s Dan Noyes spoke to Daffani Ryan, who was driving eastbound on I-580 with her husband and two children last May, when a Jeep came flying by on the shoulder, snagging her driver’s side mirror. Ryan described the bang from the impact as being as loud as a shotgun, which woke her kids up in the back seat.

“It woke up both my kids instantly,” she said. “My four-year-old, when kids sleep, they're sleeping.”

She said the driver of the Jeep, which was unmarked, initially turned on its police lights before the impact, but then afterward turned off all the lights and quickly crossed four lanes of traffic before exiting the highway. Ryan’s husband took note of the license plate info, and the California Highway Patrol dispatcher told them the car was from San Leandro.

Ryan told ABC 7 that when she called the San Leandro Police Department, watch commander Lt. Antwinette Turner first claimed the Jeep wasn’t from their department.

“The lady at San Leandro’s like, ‘Oh, that's not ours,’ and I was like, ‘Yes, it is. I’ve already, I already called the police,’” said Ryan.

Turner reportedly called back five minutes later offering to fix the damage if Ryan skipped the police report.

“It was very suspicious,” she told ABC 7. “I even told her, I said, ‘it's very weird that you're trying to stop me from making a police report about a police officer.’”

According to ABC 7, Turner, who refused to answer any questions, is no longer with the San Leandro department. She’s now Deputy Chief of BART Police, in charge of the “Progressive Policing and Community Engagement Bureau.”

Chief Averiett declined to speak to Noyes, but she told the CHP during the investigation that she “started to experience chest pain” while stuck in traffic and “wanted to expedite her return home.” She told the CHP investigator the chest pains stopped after exiting the freeway, so she didn’t go to a hospital. She claimed she didn’t hear any noises when she allegedly clipped Ryan’s mirror.

Although the damage was consistent on both cars’ mirrors, the CHP didn’t file charges due to Averiett’s claims that she had no recollection of the incident.

“There's no way in hell that you did not hear our mirrors hit,” Ryan responded. “You could do a test drive, two cars going — one going 55, one going 65 and hit mirrors and tell me you don't hear anything. Do a suburban and a Jeep. You'll hear it, I promise.”

The police department's Internal Affairs sergeant, Mike Olivera, reportedly filed a nine-page complaint with the city manager last month, claiming Turner and Averiett's actions create “a troubling pattern of lack of accountability, selective enforcement, and concealment of violations.”

Mike Rains, the attorney for the San Leandro Police Officers' Association, told ABC 7 he also believes Averiett received preferential treatment.

Rains said the police officers’ association is considering splitting the cost with the city to hire a retired judge to look into the case and come to his own determination.

“It just absolutely destroys the fabric of morale in the department, to think that your leader, to think that your chief, believes that she or he is above the law. And that's what's going on in San Leandro,” he said.

Image: San Leandro Police Department/Facebook

Dozens of cyclists were spotted swerving in and out of traffic, riding directly at moving cars, and narrowly missing pedestrians before heading the wrong way up the ramp to the Bay Bridge — where they were greeted by the SFPD and CHP.

The San Francisco Police Department put out a pretty spectacular video of authorities detaining 85 cyclists who attempted to take over the Bay Bridge Saturday.

According to a press release from the California Highway Patrol, the CHP alerted the San Francisco Police Department Saturday about a large group of bicyclists driving recklessly on the streets of South of Market as they headed toward the Bay Bridge.

Using intelligence technology from the SFPD’s Real Time Investigations Center — presumably drones, Flock license plate readers, and public surveillance cameras, to name a few, authorities tracked the group as they rode en masse, reportedly weaving through traffic, riding toward moving vehicles, and coming close to hitting pedestrians.

The group then headed the wrong way up the Harrison Street off-ramp where authorities had blocked access to the bridge.

“What we saw yesterday was not harmless fun. This is no place for games or risky behavior,” said CHP San Francisco Captain Tim McCollister. “Riding the wrong way on the freeway poses a serious danger not only to cyclists but also to the motoring public traveling at freeway speeds.”

Officers detained 85 cyclists, seized their bikes, and then released them after giving them citations for riding a bicycle onto a freeway.

“Our priority is safety, and actions like this put lives at risk and disrupt critical transportation corridors,” said McCollister. “We will continue to enforce the law and hold individuals accountable to prevent a tragedy before it occurs.”

Related: 16 Vehicles Involved in Bay Bridge Sideshow Seized, Impounded

Image: SFPD

• Sixteen vehicles were seized by CHP Monday and impounded for 30 days in connection with a sideshow that took place on the Bay Bridge around Christmas. During the incident, all westbound lanes were blocked, pedestrians were walking on the road, and drivers were operating vehicles recklessly. [KPIX]
• SF couple Rebecca and Ed Roque were in the middle of a cruise in the Middle East when the US and Israel first launched military strikes against Iran, leaving them stranded on the ship in Qatar for almost a week. The cruise company and US embassy ended up arranging a repatriation flight for the 70 American passengers onboard, amid widespread flight cancellations in the region. [KGO]

• Citibank has taken over Wells Fargo’s old location at One California in downtown SF for its new flagship branch in place of two downtown locations that closed last month. The 12,000-square-foot space includes a second-floor lounge for events, and the location will offer personal banking, small business banking, mortgages, and wealth management. [Chronicle]
• The man who barricaded himself in SF’s Nob Hill after brandishing a gun in a purple Ferrari Monday has been identified as 51-year-old Brian Currier of San Francisco, and he was booked into San Francisco County Jail for assault with a firearm, as well as a related arrest warrant. [KRON4]

National:

• Sixty unionized employees from CBS News' streaming service launched a 24-hour strike and walked off the job at the network's New York headquarters, as well as its SF Bay Area office, after staff and leadership, including "MAGA-curious" Bari Weiss, were unable to come to an agreement. [Daily Beast]
• A federal watchdog investigation uncovered that a now-former US Army general lost classified maps on a train in Europe, while also suffering a concussion after a boozy dinner. [The Huffington Post]
• Witnesses in Pennsylvania and Ohio spotted a suspected meteor accompanied by white streaks Tuesday morning, which the National Weather Service and Nasa confirmed was a fireball that hit the ground near Cleveland, Ohio. [BBC]

Video of the Day:

Crews are working late into the night this week, getting the Bay Bridge ready for the much-awaited relighting of the "Bay Lights" Friday. [KPIX]

A potential catastrophic collision was narrowly avoided in Fairfield Monday when authorities pulled over a disoriented elderly driver on I-80 who was filmed driving the wrong way, passing oncoming traffic within feet, and the CHP is spreading the word about its senior driver education class.

As KRON4 reports, the California Highway Patrol responded to reports of a wrong-way driver on I-80 in Fairfield around 5:50 pm Monday. The below video footage from the CHP shows the driver traveling within feet of oncoming traffic in the westbound express lane.

CHP and Fairfield police officers blocked traffic and safely pulled over the driver, which was also caught on video.

“Officers determined the elderly female driver was confused and disoriented after contacting her,” CHP wrote on social media. “She was safely reunited with her family.”

Authorities will be reviewing the woman’s driving status, but no further details were provided.

The CHP urges drivers 65 and older to take part in the agency’s senior driver education class, called “Age Well, Drive Smart,” on driving safely as we age and how to conduct self-assessments.

“What could have been a serious crash was safely prevented due to the phenomenal teamwork and coordination by CHP and FPD,” wrote the Solano County CHP. “This incident serves as a reminder that driving needs can change over time.”

Image: Screenshot/CHP Solano

One driver in Milpitas picked the wrong Highway Patrol K9 to drive a little too fast around Thursday night, as the driver was pulled over for speeding, and the dog sniffed out nearly 27 pounds of cocaine in the car.

A Thursday night incident saw a California Highway Patrol (CHP) officer pull over a speeding vehicle on some highway in Milpitas, a routine thing that happens every night. But once that CHP officer’s K9 unit started sniffing around, well, things really went off the rails.  

As KRON4 reports, the officer “observed indicators of criminal activity” inside the vehicle. And then that dog began to investigate, and promptly located 26.5 pounds of cocaine that was hidden within that vehicle.

“The K9 Officer deployed his canine partner ‘Rae’ who alerted to the presence of illegal narcotics,” the CHP’s Coastal Division unit said in a Friday morning Facebook post. “Personnel from the San Jose CHP Area assisted with a subsequent search of the vehicle. During the search, officers located approximately 12 kilograms of cocaine which was packaged for distribution.”

“The cocaine has an estimated street value of approximately $2 million dollars,” the CHP added.

The accused driver is not named in any public reports thus far. But obviously, that driver was arrested for possession of cocaine for sales, and other “​​various criminal charges,” according to the CHP.

Related: Cops Bust Mission District Van Packed With Cocaine, Magic Mushrooms, $600,000 in Cash [SFist]

Image: CHP - Coastal Division via Facebook

• Protesters formed a human banner at SF’s Ocean Beach Saturday, creating the word, “ABOLISH” in reference to ICE, along with signs spelling, “We have eyes, no more lies.” [Chronicle]

• Additionally, Jane Wiedlin, co-founder of the iconic band The Go-Gos, took part in the weekly protest in front of the Tesla dealership at Van Ness and O’Farrell Streets Saturday. [Jane Wiedlin/Instagram]

Image: Leanne Maxwell/SFist

One Camaro driver who enjoys speeding at more than 100 miles per hour on I-580 has a novel, James Bond-style trick to evade authorities, as this particular vehicle’s license plates are able to automatically disappear when the cops show up.

At about 8:20 am on this past Wednesday’s morning of New Year’s Eve, California Highway Patrol officers in Dublin observed a Chevy Camaro driving at speeds well over 100 miles per hour on Interstate 580. Naturally, they pursued the vehicle and gave chase. But the Camaro driver was able to leave those smokeys behind and eating his dust, not only because the driver simply sped away scot-free, but the vehicle eluded identification because the car was somehow equipped with disappearing license plates, according to KRON4.

“The license plate was black with yellow or white writing,” the California Highway Patrol’s Dublin office said in a Wednesday morning Facebook post not long after the unsuccessful chase.  “During the pursuit, the driver was able to ‘black out’ or ‘turn off’ the plate.”

Here’s a closer look at the license plate trick they are describing. Was this one of those new digital license plates, and is there some sort of nefarious hack to make these “go dark” if you’re being pursued by law enforcement? Or is this some sort of devious custom car modification for people who love lawbreaking? Either way, one has to wonder if this vehicle’s owner got the disappearing license plate capabilities to commit crimes much worse than speeding.

And it sure seems like the speeding perpetrator got away with it. The Highway Patrol’s Facebook post also says, “if you saw this and have information that will help us track down this vehicle, we would appreciate it!” Those do not sound like the words of a law enforcement agency that caught their suspect.

Anyone with information on this vehicle or this incident is asked to contact the California Highway Patrol Dublin Area Office at (925) 828-0466.

Related: CHP Pulls Over Speeding Driver on I-580, Finds 270 Pounds of Marijuana in Car [SFist]

Image: CHP - Dublin via Facebook

A 65-year-old woman was killed in a single-car crash on Interstate 280 in Daly City Thursday morning, and the driver was arrested for DUI. Northbound lanes near Serramonte Boulevard were closed to traffic, and travelers were told to expect delays.

As KRON4 reports, the driver of a Honda CR-V was driving in the far left lane on northbound Interstate 280 in Daly City, north of Hickey Boulevard, around 11:11 am Thursday when he lost control and hit the shoulder embankment. The SUV then flipped over, and the 65-year-old woman in the rear passenger seat who was ejected from the vehicle, died at the scene, according to the California Highway Patrol.

As KTVU reports, a second passenger, a 19-year-old woman from Contra Costa County who was riding in the front passenger seat, suffered minor injuries. The driver was arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence and taken to the hospital. Once he's stabilized, he'll be given a breath alcohol test and booked into San Mateo jail, per KTVU.

While KRON4 writes that the car landed on its wheels in the left lane, both KTVU and the Chronicle says the vehicle landed on its roof. Per the Chronicle, one of the occupants was reportedly trapped inside the vehicle at 11:15 am, according to CHP’s log.

Per KRON4, northbound I-280 near Serramonte Boulevard was closed while authorities investigated, and no estimated time was given for reopening.

Image: Still from Citizen footage

The story has been updated with information about the driver's arrest.

• A man went missing in Big Sur Saturday near the same spot as a father and his seven-year-old daughter were killed last week. Despite warnings of 13- to 18-foot sneaker waves, the victim and two female companions were swept away while climbing rocks along the coastline; the women made it back to shore. [Bay Area News Group]  
• A multi-agency raid in Santa Rosa Wednesday resulted in the discovery of a large illegal cannabis extraction laboratory full of “dangerous and highly volatile chemicals.” Authorities say the 17,000-square-foot lab, which contained several million dollars worth of marijuana concentrates, posed a risk to the lives of its employees and neighbors when it allegedly violated multiple county codes. [KRON4]
• The East Bay city of Antioch is now receiving 30% of its water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta as a result of its new $120 million desalination plant, which treats a mix of saltwater and freshwater, referred to as brackish water. [Chronicle]
• Investigators from the California Highway Patrol office in Santa Rosa are seeking information about a bicyclist in Petaluma who was found dead Saturday morning following a suspected hit-and-run during foggy conditions. [KPIX]
• The death of a woman who sustained severe trauma at an Oakland residence on Friday morning is being investigated as a homicide, but no further information has been released pending autopsy results. [Bay Area News Group]
• BART is hosting its third annual SweaterFest on December 13 at Rockridge Station Plaza in Oakland, featuring a slew of activities, including rides on the BARTmobile, and lots of BART swag. [KRON4]

Image: Leanne Maxwell/SFist

• The Trump administration fired five additional San Francisco immigration judges Friday, leaving nine remaining out of 21. The Department of Justice reportedly posted employment ads seeking “deportation judges” in SF, as well as Sacramento, Concord, and five other cities. [NBC Bay Area]

• US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents attempted to enter a Hayward elementary school Friday but were turned away by school administrators. Officers were then spotted knocking on nearby doors before driving away, according to Alameda County’s immigration rapid response network. [KRON4]
• The family and partner of Marvin Boomer, an Oakland schoolteacher who was killed in May by a driver fleeing police, have filed two wrongful death lawsuits against the city of Oakland and the Oakland Police Department, as well as the California Highway Patrol and the State of California. [Oaklandside]

National:

• Following her recent public clashes with Trump, Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene announced Friday she’s retiring in January. [Fast Company]

• Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board released new photos Thursday that show evidence of cracks in the engine mount of the left wing of the UPS cargo plane that crashed in Kentucky two weeks ago, killing three pilots and 11 people on the ground. [CBS News]

• The US Border Patrol is using a secretive program that utilizes predictive AI to track the routes of American drivers nationwide to pinpoint “suspicious” travel patterns in order to stop, search, and potentially arrest them. [Associated Press]

Video of the Day:

Local content creator Cai Haun recently brought her Southern mom to the famed Berkeley Bowl who appeared to have the time of her life, demonstrating that Bay Area grocery stores are definitely worth writing home about.

Image: Leanne Maxwell/SFist

A shooting occurred on Interstate-580 in Oakland Thursday morning, leading to the closure of all eastbound lanes for thirty minutes as the California Highway Patrol investigated. Authorities spoke to a victim and a witness, but no injuries were reported.

As KRON4 reports, the shooting happened around 11:45 am Thursday on eastbound I-580 at High Street in Oakland, and the CHP arrived at the scene a little before noon. Authorities spoke to a victim and a witness during the investigation, but as KRON4 notes, no injuries from the shooting were reported. KRON4 also reports that the CHP has not yet located a suspect.

Per NBC Bay Area, all eastbound lanes near the Fruitvale Avenue exit were closed for about thirty minutes, as can be seen from the Caltrans footage included in the outlet's video segment below. The outlet notes in the video report that although the closure was pretty brief, traffic quickly backed up for several miles — all the way to Highway 24. Westbound traffic was not affected.

Earlier reports from NBC Bay Area and KTVU yesterday said the shooting happened near Fruitvale Avenue, as both outlets obtained footage from the Citizen app that placed the shooting in the area of 2510 Montana Street. KRON4's more recent report says the investigation took place at High Street.

The CHP is seeking information from the public regarding the case. Anyone with any information is asked to contact Officer B. Perez at the CHP Oakland Area office at 510-457-2875.

Image: Screenshot from Citizen

• A Gilroy teen found a razor blade inside a Milky Way candy bar this week but wasn’t seriously injured. She said she received it while trick-or-treating in her immediate neighborhood. [NBC Bay Area]
• Oregon U.S. District Court Judge Karin Immergut ruled Friday that the Trump administration must remove National Guard troops from Portland within 14 days, permanently blocking their deployment and calling his attempts to federalize troops “a gross abuse of power.” [KPIX]
• A group of singles sick of dating apps showed up to a singles night at Costco Thursday thinking it was a quirky one-off thing organized by a person but quickly discovered it was put on by an AI app (although SFist could tell right away when we saw the slick marketing out in the wild). [Chronicle]
• A family in Fremont is searching for the owner of an off-leash dog that attacked and killed their small dog, Cheese, on October 23, then fled the scene; they’re raising funds to pay for $20,000 in vet bills. [KTVU]

• The occupants of a black Dodge Charger were nabbed by the California Highway Patrol and taken into custody by the Novato Police Department when it was discovered they were allegedly in possession of $20,000 worth of stolen designer glasses. [KRON4]

Image: Leanne Maxwell/SFist

California Highway Patrol officers went on a wild ride across the Bay Tuesday night, pursuing a vehicle that reached speeds of 160 miles per hour in a chase that went from Oakland to SF and then to Hayward, though the five suspects are still at large.

Had you been driving either way across the Bay Bridge after 10:30 last night, you might have noticed a California Highway Patrol (CHP) chase where the suspect vehicle reached speeds of up to 160 miles per hour, as KTVU reports. And yes, that chase spanned both the eastbound and westbound lanes of the Bay Bridge, as the chase started on I-580 near Lake Merritt, went across the Bay Bridge into San Francisco, and then the other way across the Bay Bridge amd south to Hayward.

KTVU has a video segment on the chase seen above, though this may just be stock footage. The video depicts cars that have been in collisions, though there have been no collisions reported in association with this chase.

The mayhem apparently started at 10:30 pm Tuesday night near the north end of Lake Merritt, where the suspect vehicle took off westbound on I-580 near Lakeshore Avenue. KTVU reports that CHP officers “attempted to stop a vehicle, but the driver took off.” It is not reported why officers tried to stop the vehicle.

But there were certainly reasons to arrest the driver once the chase got started. The suspect vehicle, whose make and model are undescribed, reportedly reached speeds as high as 160 miles per hour. And according to KTVU, "at times, the suspect drove the wrong way on the freeway."

After barreling across the Bay Bridge to San Francisco, the suspect vehicle turned around and sped right back across the Bay Bridge eastbound. That pursuit continued all the way to Hayward, where the vehicle turned off at the West A Street exit of I-880. At that point, five suspects exited the vehicle and fled on foot.

All five suspects were able to get away, and remain at large. As of Wednesday morning, there have been no arrests in this case.

We’ve certainly seen controversies around innocent bystanders killed in these CHP high-speed chases. But in this case, despite the dangerous nature of the chase, there are thankfully no reported injuries.

Related: Another Oakland CHP Car Chase Ends in Crash, Four Injured, Fire Hydrant Gets Smashed [SFist]

Image: CHP - San Francisco via Facebook