Update, Feb. 26, 1:30 p.m. Berkeley Police spokeswoman Officer Jennifer Coats released a bit more information by email about Thursday’s crash. She said, based on the preliminary investigation, the driver was northbound on San Pablo Avenue and, as he turned left onto Allston Way, struck the pedestrian in the crosswalk.
Coats said the pedestrian was still in the hospital when she last checked, but had been able to speak with traffic investigators.
The driver remained at the scene and cooperated with the police, Coats said. Neither drugs nor alcohol appeared to be a factor in the crash.
Coats said the driver was a 26-year-old homeless man. The pedestrian was a 63-year-old Hayward man.
Update, Feb. 26, 12:15 p.m. According to Berkeley Police spokeswoman Officer Jennifer Coats, police received a report of a collision involving a vehicle and a pedestrian at about 1 p.m. Thursday at San Pablo Avenue and Allston Way.
“It appears a vehicle struck the pedestrian and then struck an electrical box there,” she said by email. “The collision is still under investigation.”
The male who was injured was taken to a local hospital with serious injuries.
Berkeleyside has asked for an update Thursday on his condition, and will update this post if more information is provided.
Original story, 3:15 p.m. A driver in a van struck a pedestrian in West Berkeley on Wednesday shortly before 1 p.m.
Berkeleyside has requested confirmation and additional information from police and fire officials. In the meantime, we have reviewed a scanner audio recording of the incident.
According to that report, one pedestrian was taken by ambulance to Highland Hospital in Oakland with a head injury.
The crash, at Allston Way west of San Pablo Avenue, involved one vehicle described as a brown Volkswagen Vanagon. It knocked out traffic signals at the intersection after striking some type of electrical box, authorities said.
According to police on the scene, as per the recording, an “electrical-type box” was knocked to the ground as a result of the crash.
Police said they would need numerous officers to respond to take witness statements.
Police also asked for the services of Crime Scene Cleaners. One witness wrote on Twitter that there was a “lot of blood on the ground,” in addition to the power outage.
Police asked for a city crew to respond to address the outage.
Berkeleyside will update this post as more information is made available by authorities.
Related:
Injured pedestrian taken to hospital after Berkeley crash (01.05.15)
A tragic death in Berkeley spurs funds for traffic beacons (12.22.14)
Driver charged in vehicular manslaughter of Berkeley man is ‘legally blind’ (08.04.14)
Driver to enter plea after woman hurt in hit-and-run near People’s Park (07.16.14)
Car strikes and kills 98-year-old pedestrian in Berkeley (04.05.14)
Driver strikes 3 blind pedestrians in Berkeley, flees (10.25.13)
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