The California Highway Patrol followed a speeding motorist into Berkeley early Tuesday morning and ultimately arrested one person hiding in a backyard, authorities report.
Many readers asked Berkeleyside to find out what had happened after the CHP helicopter woke them up in the early hours. Community members also reported hearing what sounded like orders over a megaphone for someone to turn themselves in.
Initially, said Oakland CHP spokesman Officer Kris Borer, the CHP was following a stolen 2012 Chevrolet Impala on westbound Interstate 580 (near Foothill Boulevard) at about 1:45 a.m. That vehicle appeared to be traveling with a second vehicle, a 2015 Toyota Camry, Borer said. The vehicles were both moving at 50 mph and the “occupants were pointing at each other and talking through the open windows.”
Officers tried to get behind the stolen Impala, Borer said, but the Camry blocked their approach. Officers tried to stop the Camry but it took off at 120 mph and exited the freeway onto University Avenue in Berkeley, Borer said.
A CHP helicopter joined the officers on the ground who were following the Camry and was able to track it as it moved through Berkeley on city streets. At one point, the Camry struck a curb, causing damage to the left side of the vehicle and leaving it with flat tires.
At Cedar and Josephine streets in North Berkeley, the Camry’s two occupants got out and ran, Borer said.
The CHP helicopter located one of those individuals in a backyard on Josephine, Borer said. The second occupant was not located.
The CHP also arrested two people in the stolen Impala — which reportedly had been taken from San Jose — when it yielded at the toll plaza that leads onto the Bay Bridge.
Readers reported hearing the helicopter in the area as late as 2:45 a.m.
No further information about the arrested individuals was immediately available because the officers who worked on the case are off-duty for the day, Borer said. Berkeleyside will share additional information if it becomes available.
