A Sacramento man whose pickup truck caught fire this morning near the toll plaza on the Bay Bridge was placed in the hospital on an emergency psychiatric hold, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The CHP responded around 8:30 a.m. to reports of a vehicle blocking a lane of westbound Interstate Highway 80 on the Bay Bridge west of the toll plaza, according to CHP Officer Michael Ferguson.
Shortly after, the call was upgraded to a vehicle on fire and a party acting erratically.
Responding officers found Romeo Cruz Bautista, 32, behaving erratically and standing in traffic lanes as his 1998 Ford F-150 was engulfed in flames, Ferguson said.
Bautista was subdued and detained with the help of a Department of Homeland Security officer who was passing through the Toll Plaza at the time, Ferguson said. A San Francisco police officer passing through the area also rendered assistance on the scene.
Oakland firefighters responded, extinguished the fire and attended to Bautista, who suffered minor injuries from the fire.
The incident slowed morning traffic on the Bay Bridge. It took crews less than an hour to remove the vehicle and reopen lanes closed due to the incident.
Bautista was taken to Highland Hospital in Oakland for a psychiatric evaluation and treatment of his injuries, Ferguson said.
Dennis Culver, Bay City News
0512p06/19/14
