Man Arrested After Wrong-Way Stolen Tow Truck Rampage at Bay Bridge Toll Plaza
OAKLAND (CBS SF) -- An Oakland man is facing multiple felonies after allegedly stealing a tow truck from his nephew and driving it the wrong way through the Bay Bridge toll plaza twice, hitting a CHP cruiser, according to authorities.
CHP said that shortly after 4 p.m. Sunday, a tow truck driver was parked before the toll plaza for unknown reasons. The driver got into a disagreement with the toll workers who attempted to get him to get off the freeway, leading to a call for CHP assistance. Responding officers arrived to find to the driver still parked in the toll lane.
The driver proceeded to drive the tow truck down the freeway along the Bay Bridge before turning around and going the wrong way back down the freeway through the toll gates. The driver traveled all the way down I-580 going the wrong direction until he reached the Highway 24 interchange, where he then turned around and again started heading in the correct direction down 580 towards the Bay Bridge toll plaza.
He went through the toll plaza again and again turned around and started driving the wrong way down the Bay Bridge and through the toll booth. CHP units waiting for the driver at the toll plaza as the tow truck came towards them, with one CHP officer getting out of their vehicle and attempting to deploy a spike strip.
The tow truck proceeded to ram the officer's empty CHP cruiser, pushing it backwards through the toll booth. The driver then attempted to ram another occupied CHP cruiser, but the officer managed to maneuver his vehicle out of the way.
The tow truck then headed back down I-580, this time towards Powell Street, though authorities said it was unclear if the vehicle was going wrong or right direction at this point. The driver turned around on I-580 near Powell and started heading back down the freeway in the wrong direction again, travelling all the way to San Pablo Avenue, where the tow truck collided with a Cadillac Escalade and the chase ended.
A CHP officer was injured during the detainment of the suspect. Both the suspect and the CHP officer were hospitalized with minor injuries, with the CHP getting released. A total of two civilian vehicles were damaged -- a Subaru Forester that was hit on the Bay Bridge and the Cadillac Escalade that was struck at the end of the pursuit.
CHP identified the suspect in custody as 46-year-old Oakland resident Martin Cayetano. Authorities determined the tow truck belonged to his nephew and had been stolen. Cayetano was booked in Santa Rita Jail and has charged with multiple felonies, including assault with deadly weapon, assaulting an officer, reckless evading, driving a stolen vehicle, and several other more minor charges.
