I-80 Off-Ramp Opens After High-Speed Chase, Fiery Crash Kills 2
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) — An Interstate Highway 80 off-ramp in San Francisco's South of Market neighborhood reopened this morning after a California Highway Patrol chase from Oakland ended in a crash that killed two people, authorities said.
The CHP spotted the BMW 3 Series that was stolen in San Francisco at about 3 a.m. on I-880 in Oakland, near Seventh Street. They followed it to the Bay Bridge toll plaza and across the incline at normal speeds but when the driver of the BMW accelerated to about 120 mph.
The CHP backed off the pursuit but the stolen vehicle was moving so fast, the driver lost control trying to exit at Fifth Street, hit the left-side rail and crashed amd burst into flames.
One person was killed after being ejected from the vehicle and the other died in the car that caught fire.
"Right we have our MAI team--it's the major accident investigation team. They're coming out here and they're going to assist with the investigation. So they'll come out here and measure where everything is before we open the off-ramp and the coroner needs to come out here to identify and remove the bodies," CHP spokesman Sean Wilkenfeld told KCBS.
A Sig-alert was issued at 3:19 a.m. and the westbound I-80 off-ramp is scheduled to reopen approximately at 10 a.m. according to the CHP.
The Fifth Street off-ramp is a major exit off the Bay Bridge. Commuters driving into the city will have to exit the Fremont or Civic Center exits. Harrison is now open, but several streets in the neighborhood remained closed.