Stolen car driver attempts to escape police on freeway, scares I-580 traffic

Oakland drivers on Interstate 580 had a scary encounter with a police pursuit of a stolen Honda Accord Saturday morning, as the driver sped down the wrong side of the highway.  The suspect and a police officer, whose names have not yet been released, were injured in the high-speed chase. Both received medical attention.

Two Oakland North reporters, en route to Lakeview Elementary for a school closures community gathering, narrowly missed a head-on collision with the wrong-way Honda on Interstate 580. The car, showing no indication of slowing down, swerved from the right lane into the shoulder lane as one police car followed in the wrong direction. Blaring sirens could be heard from police cars nearing the chase.

According to police, the chase started around 9:26 a.m. on Webster Street when an officer identified the Honda as a stolen car. The suspect refused to be apprehended. He pressed hard on the gas and tried to map out an escape on city streets.

At the intersection of MacArthur Boulevard and Grand Avenue, the Honda struck a police car with enough force to blow out its tires. The stolen car was not damaged, though, and kept accelerating—driving through exiting freeway traffic and speeding eastbound in I-580’s westbound lane.

Eventually, with police in pursuit, the driver pulled off near Oakland High School.  Then he got back on the freeway, and back off again at Lakeshore.  He edged his way toward Lake Merritt, until a police car finally hit the stolen Honda and forced it into a stop sign.  Surrounding police drew guns on the driver, who was pulled from the car and put into an ambulance for treatment.

Photos by Byrhonda Lyons