Two suspects died in a crash early Saturday in San Leandro after reportedly leading California Highway Patrol officers in a highway chase that began in Castro Valley, officials said.
According to the CHP, a pair of officers also suffered major injuries when both their vehicle and the white Mercedes they were pursuing crashed into a noise barrier on a tight, winding exit road from I-238 that leads to East 14th Street.
The two officers were taken to a hospital with major injuries, though they were not life-threatening, the CHP said Saturday. A passenger in the Mercedes was also hospitalized with major injuries.
The pursuit on Saturday began at about 3:41 a.m. when CHP officers attempted a traffic stop of the Mercedes sedan on Interstate 580, near Eden Canyon Road in Castro Valley, authorities said.
The driver did not pull over, the CHP said, and the ensuing vehicle chase extended for several miles along I-580 and I-238. It ended when the Mercedes crashed off the highway exit, just before it could reach San Leandro’s city streets.
Authorities said the CHP vehicle similarly ran into the barrier as a result of the first crash, though the two vehicles did not collide.
Responders from the Alameda County Fire Department and county sheriff’s office arrived to the scene soon afterward. The case is under investigation, the CHP said. No identifying details of the deceased suspects had been released as of press time Saturday.
Saturday’s incident was the latest high-speed law enforcement chase in the East Bay to result in a deadly crash — a trend that has led to fierce public debates in nearby Oakland about when police should engage in pursuits.
A similar CHP chase in Oakland in May led the suspect driver to crash, causing the death of a popular local teacher.
Last month, a civilian body that oversees the Oakland police approved new policies that relaxed previous restrictions on when the city’s officers can initiate a high-speed chase.
The CHP is not bound by any local policies limiting pursuit speeds. The agency has regularly been deployed to the East Bay, a crime-reduction strategy championed by Gov. Gavin Newsom.