Driver killed on I-580 by alleged burglary vehicle going wrong way

A driver on westbound I-580 was killed by a pickup truck traveling the wrong way on Tuesday, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The white pickup truck was connected to a burglary in El Cerrito, the CHP said. Two people in the truck were injured and in serious condition.

The driver of a BMW was killed but has not been identified. He was said to be a 56-year-old finance professional on his way to work. He was pronounced dead at the scene. 

Police had been pursuing the truck, but said they had stopped chasing it before the collision.

"When our officer saw the vehicle turnaround, our officer terminated his pursuit, turned off his lights and exited the freeway," said Police Chief Paul Keith.

The crash happened at 4:30 a.m. within the MacArthur Maze in Oakland that leads to the Bay Bridge. Traffic was delayed for hours as police closed lanes to conduct their investigation. 

In addition to hitting the car that killed the driver, the pickup truck crashed into a second vehicle; a white work van with a solo occupant, police said. The pickup truck pulled a U-turn on I-80 and wound up going the wrong way on 580, according to officials. 

Late on Tuesday, El Cerrito Police Department identified the driver of the suspect vehicle as Patrick Scheckells, 34, of Oakland. The other burglary suspect was identified as Andre Alberty, 56, of San Francisco. Both the CHP and El Cerrito police are conducting criminal investigations. The police department said they will work with CHP to pursue criminal charges in this case. The suspects are both still hospitalized in Alameda County. 

El Cerrito police said that the burglary happened at a smoke shop on San Pablo Avenue early this morning. The owner of Tobacco Outlet told KTVU that his store was ransacked by thieves, and he fears there was at least $50,000 in damage to the business. He was alerted to the burglary through an app on his iPhone. 

"This is by far the worst damage," said the shop owner, who asked not to be identified. He said this was the fifth time his business had been hit.

"This will probably break us. We probably can't come back from this," he said.

Later in the morning, the smoke shop owner was cleaning up, sorrowful for the loss of life. 

"I’m thinking about the person that lost their life. This is just stuff, just material, can be replaced, fixed, money comes and money goes but somebody lost their life today," he said. 

Community members were also shocked to hear what happened. 

"You know, it's a terrible tragedy and I didn't realize that it was this shop and I frequent the shop next door and it's just…I think we're seeing a lot of crimes of desperation in the Bay Area that we need to address on a more systemic level. But it's really a tragedy and a sad loss of life," said Daniel Turman of Kensington. 

"Something needs to happen because the smoke shop right over here, the other side of San Pablo. Just get hits like constantly two or three times a week. Like, yeah, I know I go over there sometimes they get hit a lot," said Michael who only gave his last initial, W, of Richmond. 

The traffic backup on I-580 extended to Highway 24 and caused problems for East Bay commuters who became stuck in the jam for three and a half hours.

CHP will recommend criminal charges to the Alameda County district attorney for the fatal car crash, while El Cerrito police will file criminal charges with the Contra Costa County District Attorney for the smoke shop burglary.

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