A 26-year-old Berkeley man with a severe head injury died Sunday at the hospital, and police detectives are conducting an investigation to try to learn the cause.
Sgt. Andrew Frankel, Berkeley police spokesman, said officers at Alta Bates Hospital on Sunday were flagged down by medical staff for “a patient who had walked in with a head injury.”
The officers had been at the hospital at 10:45 a.m. on a separate matter when they were alerted to the patient’s condition.
“Based on the patient’s injuries and absent any direct evidence indicating if this was an accident or a crime, detectives were contacted,” Frankel said. The man died of his injuries later in the day.
Police said foul play does not appear to have been a factor, but a death investigation is underway because the cause and circumstances of the injury were not known.
Investigators linked the head injury to an incident in the 1700 block of Curtis Street, which is east of San Pablo Avenue and south of Cedar Street.
Officers took statements and did neighborhood checks Sunday as part of their investigation, according to scanner traffic reviewed by Berkeleyside.
Frankel said no further information will be released until after the coroner’s office completes its report. That process can take weeks or months.
