San Francisco Police are on the hunt for a man who pushed his wife into the back of a Budget rental truck yesterday afternoon and led police on chase through Bayview, Potrero Hill, the Mission and the Lower Haight before ditching the van near the Panhandle of Golden Gate Park.
According to police, the pursuit began with a 911 call around 4:30 p.m. yesterday afternoon on the 600 block of Jamestown Avenue near Candlestick Park. The 911 caller reported that the argument ended when the man pushed his wife into the back of the rental truck and another unidentified woman, who may be a friend or family member, hopped in the cab and the three drove away.
Officers found the truck nearby, but the driver took off when cops came close. Police gave chase from the southeast waterfront to the center of the city, eventually throwing down spike strips to slow the moving van down. The strips flattened two tires, but the relentless driver kept right on driving. SFPD called off the pursuit as the driver became more and more reckless — as one does when driving a top-heavy box van with two flat tires. Authorities later found the van at Oak and Clayton on the Upper Haight side of the Panhandle, but the three people were already long gone.
Although they aren't releasing any names at this point, Police say they know who the three people are and would very much like to talk to them to figure out what the heck just happened. SFPD is also looking for additional witnesses to the argument in the Bayview. Several innocent vehicles also sustained minor damage during the wobbly, flat-tire chase across town.
