Two men who were in a vehicle driving the wrong way up an I-580 ramp near the Bay Bridge toll plaza earlier this month and collided with a BMW, killing the driver, are facing multiple charges, and one has been charged with the BMW driver's murder.

The crash happened around 4:30 am on the morning of March 19, and a third vehicle was involved as well. Two men, now identified as 34-year-old Patrick Scheckells from Oakland and 56-year-old Andre Alberty from San Francisco, were fleeing from El Cerrito police following an alleged burglary at a smoke shop in that city.

El Cerrito officers chased Scheckells and Alberty to the Bay Bridge toll plaza, at which point Scheckells, who was behind the wheel, allegedly made a U-turn and sped the wrong way up a ramp on westbound I-580. There, the two suspects' pickup truck collided with a BMW and another vehicle.

The driver of the BMW, identified as 57-year-old David Lee Weiner of Lafayette, was killed.

Now, as KPIX reports, Scheckells faces murder charges — or vehicular homicide charges — in connection with Weiner's death. Both Scheckells and Alberty also face multiple other charges, including second-degree burglary and possession of stolen property, in connection with the burglary at Tobacco Outlet in El Cerrito.

The collision continues to be investigated by California Highway Patrol.

This was one of two crashes to happen in the East Bay within a week stemming from police pursuits of alleged retail thieves. Seven days after this fatal crash, a Lexus overturned on Lakeshore Avenue in Oakland with four occupants inside after the car had been chased from Napa following a retail burglary there.

High-speed chases like this are considered dangerous, and data suggests they often end in deaths of innocent victims, if not the suspects themselves. The Chronicle recently published an investigation of police pursuits nationwide, which found that at least 3,336 people died in high-speed chases in the the six years ending in 2022, over 550 of whom were innocent bystanders/drivers. And many of these chases occurred because of "traffic infractions, nonviolent crimes or no crime at all."

Previously: Early Morning Wrong-Way Crash Near MacArthur Maze In Oakland Kills One, Causes Major Traffic Backup