Photos show San Leandro police chief's Jeep, Chevrolet in alleged hit-and-run

Name: San Leandro top cop placed on leave in wake of hit-and-run charge
Uploaded: 2026-05-19T11:12:33-07:00
Description: San Leandro Police Chief Angela Averiett was placed on paid leave after being charged with misdemeanor hit-and-run for allegedly sideswiping another vehicle and leaving the scene. The top cop says she did knowingly leave the scene of a collision.

San Leandro top cop placed on leave in wake of hit-and-run charge

San Leandro Police Chief Angela Averiett was placed on paid leave after being charged with misdemeanor hit-and-run for allegedly sideswiping another vehicle and leaving the scene. The top cop says she did knowingly leave the scene of a collision.

DUBLIN, Calif. - Photos obtained by KTVU show minor damage to both the silver Jeep Grand Cherokee driven by San Leandro's police chief and the black Chevrolet Suburban driven by a mother on her way home with her family after a Giants game last spring that resulted in a hit-and-run charge filed against the chief, as well as the city placing her on administrative leave.

Chief at fault, but not guilty of hit-and-run

Dig deeper:

(L) Side widow of Chevrolet Suburban owned by Daffani Ryan. (R) Side window of silver Jeep Grand Cherokee driven by San Leandro police chief. Photos: CHP report.

The 14-page California Highway Patrol report from May 19, 2025, obtained through a Public Records Request, ultimately concludes that Angela Averiett, who is San Leandro's police chief, was at fault for clipping the side mirror of a Chevrolet driven by Daffani Ryan of Modesto on Interstate Highway 580 south of San Ramon Road near Dublin.

The CHP report noted that Averiett's Jeep was driving faster than Ryan's and veered from the center median, making an "unsafe turning movement" and her passenger side mirror clipped the driver's side mirror on Ryan's Chevrolet.

But even so, the CHP decided not to cite the chief after she told officers she didn't realize she had hit anything as she was experiencing chest pain – which she reiterated at a news conference last week, just before she was put on leave.

"It was determined Party #1 (Averiett) had no knowledge of the reported hit-and-run," the CHP report states. "Therefore, it was determined there was not a violation of California Vehicle Code section 20002 (a) – hit-and-run. In addition, due to the minor nature of the damage the Jeep sustained, it supports the possibility that Party #1 may not have been aware that a crash occurred."

The pictures in the CHP report show negligible damage to both cars' side mirrors.

Chief's side

Averiett told the investigating CHP officer on the night in question that she activated her rear lights and drove in the center median at 15 to 20 mph to pass slower moving traffic when she began experiencing some chest pain. After passing the traffic, Averiett said she turned off her lights, got off at the next exit and went home. She told the CHP she did not seek medical attention for her chest pain because her "pain subsided after exiting the freeway," according to the report.

She told the officer she did not recall crashing into another car or hearing anything that resembled that sound on her way home, according to the report.

Averiett said as much during her news conference last week, stating the CHP had investigated her and concluded she had not committed a hit-and-run.

The other driver's side

Meanwhile, Ryan – whose story was first reported by ABC7 – told the CHP in the same report that she was driving home when a Jeep "was driving carelessly at 55-60" mph when it passed her with its rear lights on.

Ryan told the CHP that the Jeep hit her, turned its lights off and "quickly got over to the far-right lane and exited" and did not attempt to stop.

The DA

What's next:

Last week, Alameda County District Attorney Ursula Jones Dickson held a news conference of her own, announcing one hit-and-run misdemeanor charge against Avierett.

"We found there was enough information there to elevate this to a charging of the case," Jones Dickson said at the time.

Averiett is scheduled to appear in court on June 18.