2 stolen car suspects lead officers on separate chases in 3 Bay Area counties
2 suspects lead officers on 3 separate Bay Area chases
Multiple law enforcement agencies were kept busy on Friday when two suspects in a suspected stolen car led police departments from separate Bay Area jurisdictions on separate chases.
BERKELEY, Calif. - Multiple law enforcement agencies were kept busy on Friday when two suspects in a suspected stolen car led police departments from separate jurisdictions on separate chases.
Multiple pursuits
What we know:
This started in Vallejo when officers spotted a car without a license plate driving recklessly. They ended their pursuit before the car left Vallejo. That's when a helicopter got involved.
Berkeley police said they got a call at 4:16 p.m. from a California Highway Patrol's helicopter out of Contra Costa County that spotted a wanted and stolen vehicle with two suspects inside and that they were following the vehicle.
CHP told KTVU they were only using the helicopter to follow the vehicle and to report its location to other agencies. CHP said none of their ground units were used. CHP also said it was the Vallejo Police Department that initiated the pursuit of the suspected stolen vehicle.
Vehicle crashes
The Berkeley Police Department said they were notified by CHP that it appeared the suspects may be exiting in Berkeley. Instead, the suspected stolen vehicle exited in Emeryville and drove into Oakland, where it hit several vehicles, according to police.
Berkeley police said the two suspects exited the vehicle and that one of the suspects was taken into custody by the Oakland Police Department.
Oakland police said they were aware that a stolen vehicle had entered their city limits just before 4:30 p.m. Oakland police said this is an ongoing investigation and that they were not the lead agency involved in the investigation.
Carjacking – Another stolen vehicle
The second suspect allegedly carjacked another vehicle, at which point another pursuit was initiated by OPD, Berkeley police said.
This allegedly stolen vehicle was pursued onto Highway 13. It then exited on Tunnel Road into Berkeley. The BPD said their officers picked up the pursuit after hearing the suspect hit several pedestrians, knocking them to the ground.
The suspect later crashed into a Berkeley police patrol vehicle and hit a light pole at around 5 p.m., Berkeley police said.
An officer approached the suspect in the vehicle to apprehend the suspect and found that he was injured.
The suspect was removed from the car and transported to a hospital with major injuries from the crash.
He is suffering from spinal injuries, officials said.
SkyFOX was able to fly over this scene and could see the suspect on the ground and being given medical attention after he was contained and held at gunpoint.
The aftermath
The officer whose vehicle was struck in Berkeley at Haste and Shattuck was not injured, Berkeley police said.
There were no updates on the suspect's condition.
Berkeley police said they went back to the area where the pedestrians were said to have been struck, but never found anyone who said they were struck by the vehicle.
No further information was available about the first suspect who was taken into custody.
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