Driver Chased By Police Identified In Fatal Orinda Crash
ORINDA (BCN) - A woman who was killed in a crash in Orinda on Tuesday while fleeing from police in a stolen pickup truck has been identified as 27-year-old Hayward resident Christina Ramos, Contra Costa County sheriff's spokesman Jimmy Lee said.
The incident began at about 2:20 p.m. Tuesday when a Moraga woman picking up her child from Miramonte High School saw her two vehicles drive past. The first vehicle was a Subaru that she had reported stolen earlier in the day.
Behind the Subaru was the woman's pickup truck, which she did not know had also been stolen until she saw it go by, Lee said.
The woman called 911 and officers from Moraga and Orinda police responded.
An Orinda police officer spotted the pickup truck, got behind it and turned on his lights and sirens, but the driver did not pull over, Lee said.
The officer chased the pickup north on Camino Pablo, but then lost sight of it, Lee said.
A short time later, the officer came upon the pickup truck, which had crashed into a power pole on Camino Pablo just north of Miner Road.
The truck was badly mangled and the driver, later identified as Ramos, was pronounced dead at the scene, Lee said.
An autopsy conducted Wednesday found that she died from a blunt force head injury, Lee said.
The crash knocked down power lines and caused 270 PG&E customers to lose power, PG&E spokeswoman Nicole Liebelt said.
Power was restored to the majority of those customers between 3:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. Tuesday, but as of today, 65 customers were still without power.
PG&E estimated they would be working until about 6 p.m. Wednesday to get the power back on for those remaining 65 customers, Liebelt said.
Camino Pablo was closed from about 2:30 p.m. until 11:30 p.m. One-way traffic control was still in effect Wednesday to make room for the PG&E workers, and traffic in the area was backed up, Lee said.
While the chase was happening in Orinda, another officer spotted the stolen Subaru and chased it west on state Highway 24. That officer also lost sight of the vehicle, Lee said.
It was found abandoned a short time later with the engine still running on Hidden Valley Road in Lafayette, Lee said.
Detectives were still working Wednesday afternoon to identify the person who stole the Subaru.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to call investigators at (925) 313-2630.
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