We have another story of a police chase that could have led to deadly consequences, only this time it appears everyone escaped uninjured.
The incident happened early Tuesday morning and began in San Leandro, where police interrupted an alleged auto burglary in progress, as KTVU reports. San Leandro police were called to 700 block of Donovan Drive around 2:30 am this morning, and spotted a suspect vehicle fleeing the scene where the auto burglary was reported.
Officers chased the vehicle to the I-880 freeway, and then continued to chase the suspects into Oakland.
San Leandro Police Lt. Abe Teng tells KTVU that the suspects "had trouble getting off the 29th Avenue off-ramp" in Oakland, and crashed into an overpass wall and support pole.
The car then burst into flames, but the driver and two passengers all reportedly escaped the flames. The driver and one passenger fled the scene on foot. One backseat passenger was detained by police but later let go.
It is not clear at this time whether any arrests were made or were pending.
This crash follows a string of incidents in the Bay Area in which high-speed chases involving law enforcement have ended with dangerous and sometimes deadly crashes.
A March 19 chase by El Cerrito police, in which they were pursuing two suspects in a retail burglary, ended in a wrong-way crash near the Bay Bridge toll plaza that killed an innocent driver who was headed into San Francisco. One of the two alleged burglars has now been charged with murder, but the police are likely to face more criticism for initiating the pursuit over a burglary.
That crash occurred just a few weeks after the Chronicle published a piece about the growing trend of innocent bystanders and drivers being killed as a result of police chases. Nationwide, at least 3,336 people died in high-speed chases during the six years ending in 2022, over 550 of whom were innocent bystanders/drivers.
After two high-profile crashes in San Francisco stemming from police chases, the SF Police Commission last June called for a review of the SFPD's policy around chases.
Previously: One of Two Alleged Smoke Shop Burglars Charged With Murder In Wrong-Way Crash Near Bay Bridge
