Driver gets away from police in East Bay car chase; another ends in crash
East Bay authorities were involved in two police chases late Wednesday, with one ending in a crash and the second turning into a foot pursuit where the suspect managed to get away.
At first glance of the aerial footage from a chase in Oakland, it looks like a man is parking his gray pickup truck in East Oakland. He casually gets out and slowly walks up the street.
Then, two motorcycle officers from the Oakland Police Department show up and the chase ensues. He takes off running, jumping into a resident's backyard. He jumps fence after fence, at times he's seen taking off his sweatshirt and sitting on stairs to take a break.
The man doesn't give up. He keeps going from one backyard to another. At one point, he jumps into a yard with two dogs. Police said he is wanted for driving a stolen car. After a brief chase, the man somehow managed to hide in a shed and slip away from police.
Around the same time, a pair of suspected thieves were on the run in Contra Costa County after a robbery at this Taco Bell in Lafayette.
"First, he tried to buy food, but he just had $3. So we just gave him a glass of water and after that he tried to get money from us," said Taco Bell manager Josue Cambrano.
Cambrano said a man came in while a female driver stayed in their vehicle. Cambrano recalled the man was wearing a face mask and hoodie and was possibly armed with a gun.
"He was just trying to show us that he had a gun, but we don't really know if he had a gun or not," he said.
While police did not provide any official confirmation, authorities believe the robbers caused a crash as they tried to get away. Several vehicles including a patrol car were involved in the wreck near El Sobrante. Chopper video showed at least one person being loaded into an ambulance, but so far there has been no word on arrests in the case.
Taco Bell employees had a scary afternoon, but they were relieved to hear that the robbers responsible for holding up the restaurant may have been caught.