2 killed, 3 injured in San Leandro crash following CHP chase

2 killed, 3 injured in San Leandro crash following CHP chase

Two suspects were killed and two California Highway Patrol officers were injured in a crash in San Leandro following a pursuit that began in Castro Valley on Saturday morning.

SAN LEANDRO, Calif. - Two suspects were killed and two California Highway Patrol officers were injured in a crash in San Leandro following a pursuit that began in Castro Valley on Saturday morning.

CHP officers attempted about 3:40 a.m. to stop a speeding Mercedes sedan on the westbound side of the I-580 freeway just east of Eden Canyon Road, according to the department.

The Mercedes failed to stop for the officers, leading the CHP on a pursuit into San Leandro where the suspect vehicle attempted to exit the westbound I-238 freeway onto East 14th Street.

The Mercedes crashed into a sound wall while trying to make the exit, and a pursuing CHP vehicle also crashed into the sound wall while trying to make the same exit, the CHP said. However, the department noted that the two vehicles did not strike each other in the crash.

The Alameda County Fire Department was called to the scene following the crash, and medical responders found the driver and one of the passengers inside the Mercedes died of their injuries. A second passenger in the Mercedes was taken to a hospital with serious injuries.

The identities of the two suspects who died in the crash were not released.

Two CHP officers inside the CHP vehicle that crashed after the Mercedes were also taken to a hospital for treatment of what the department said were major, but non-life-threatening injuries.

An investigation into the cause of the two crashes is ongoing, the CHP said.

Local experts weigh in on takeaways from pursuit, crash

"The law gives the CHP the right to pursue people that are violating the law, but it also tells them you've got to keep the safety of the public in mind," said KTVU legal analyst Michael Cardoza. 

Cardoza stresses the moment the Mercedes took off instead of stopping from police is the moment the suspect put everyone in danger, but he says in this case CHP could face scrutiny over what happened as well. 

"Does the means justify the ends in this case? Obviously, they both go in too fast. You have trained CHP officers in the sense they're trained how to drive at high rates of speed. They were unable to negotiate that turn," said Cardoza. 

"In general, I think it's another example of how dangerous high-speed chases are. It also highlights how they're dangerous for the police as well," said Millie Cleveland of the Coalition for Police Accountability.

Cleveland says this pursuit and crash and so many others are cases in point as to why a policy change is overdue. 

"I think that we have also heard from officers that they don't like to engage in these chases because they want to go home at night," said Cleveland.