Something happened on 8th Street and mission street. Seems like someone is injured pic.twitter.com/LwCQcKwYpC
— Miguel Cervera (@MiguelCervera) June 3, 2015
In a chilling echo of a similar incident this April, Tuesday night a pedestrian was critically injured as a suspected robber fled from police.
According to San Francisco Police Department spokesperson Officer Albie Esparza, at 10:32 last night police officers in a marked patrol car began to follow "a suspected robbery vehicle" in SoMa.
"The suspect vehicle," a blue, four-door BMW, "immediately fled from officers and struck a pedestrian at 8th and Market Streets," Esparza says.
The hit-and-run driver headed across the Bay Bridge. Pursuing officers lost the BMW "near the 580 split," Esparza says.
The pedestrian was transported to San Francisco General Hospital with injuries that were considered life-threatening, Esparza says. Police did not have any updates on the victim's condition as of this morning.
"He went flying," he said. "It was pretty scary."
Tuesday night's pursuit and collision is just the latest in a series of high-speed police chases across the city in which bystanders are injured. On Monday, parolee Michael Cortez was arrested after leading police in a vehicle pursuit from the Bayview to Fifth and Mission, "where he struck two cars and injured at least two civilians" before crashing outside the Westfield San Francisco Centre. He was booked at the scene on suspicion of resisting arrest, recklessly evading police causing serious bodily injury, and three counts of felony hit-and-run and assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer.
On April 10, SF resident Bridget Klecker was killed in a crosswalk at California Street and Kearny Street when the driver of a car being chased by SFPD struck her. The men who were allegedly in that vehicle were arrested in May, and face homicide, conspiracy, evasion of police, possession of a stolen vehicle, and multiple robbery charges.
However, the suspect in Tuesday night's chase and collision remains at large. Always eager for the public's assistance, SFPD asks that if you know anything about last night's incident, please call their anonymous tip line at 415-575-4444 or send a tip by text message to TIP411 with "SFPD" in the message.