Off-Duty Officer Witnesses Fatal I-80 Hit-Run, Tails Suspect Leading To Arrest In Vacaville
PINOLE (CBS SF) -- Police have arrested a driver who allegedly fatally struck a 28-year-old man early Sunday morning in Pinole, according to the California Highway Patrol.
At around midnight, an off-duty Berkeley police officer spotted a driver in a white 2003 Chevrolet Malibu, who appeared to be intoxicated, driving on eastbound Interstate Highway 80, near Pinole Valley Road.
The officer witnessed the driver weave in and out of the slow lane at 75 miles per hour, before crashing into a Toyota Corolla that was stopped on the highway's shoulder, CHP officials said.
After the crash, the Chevy continued driving on the highway. The officer alerted authorities and continued to follow the vehicle, as it exited the highway at Willow Avenue.
The Chevy then went into a Safeway parking lot and began driving in circles, before exiting the parking lot. The driver then ran a red light and got back onto eastbound Interstate Highway 80, according to the CHP.
A CHP officer was eventually able to catch up with the suspect vehicle and pull it over, near Nut Tree Parkway in Vacaville.
Officers detained the driver, identified as Oakland resident Keri Cache, 31. She was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence, causing the loss of life, felony hit and run causing the loss of life and driving with a suspended license, CHP officials said.
Officer determined the victim, a Martinez resident has pulled over his vehicle and was outside of it, as he checked a tire. He was then sent careening down an embankment along the freeway when he was fatally struck by Cache.
The CHP closed down the eastbound lanes of the highway for about two hours following the crash.
Cache has been booked into the Martinez Detention Facility, according to CHP officials.
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