3:35 PM: San Francisco police are seeking a man who caused a serious crash after fleeing from a traffic stop in the city’s South of Market neighborhood early Saturday morning, a police spokesman said today.
The incident began at about 1:20 a.m. Saturday near Howard and Sixth streets, where officers tried to pull over a car for a vehicle code violation but it sped away, police spokesman Officer Albie Esparza said.
The officers notified dispatch about the car but did not immediately pursue it as the vehicle went west on Howard Street, then south on Russ Street and east on Folsom Street, Esparza said.
Moments later, the officers heard a crash and went to Sixth and Folsom streets, where the vehicle had hit another car and knocked over a fire hydrant, police said.
A man in the other car had to be extricated by fire crews and was taken to San Francisco General Hospital with life-threatening injuries, according to police.
Witnesses told police that after the crash, the suspect ran east on Folsom Street toward Fifth Street and went into a 10-story building under construction.
Officers surrounded the building and searched the property but did not find the man. He was described as a Hispanic man between 20 and 25 years old who is about 5 feet 8 inches tall, weighs roughly 150 pounds and was wearing a dark plaid shirt and dark pants, Esparza said.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the Police Department’s anonymous tip line at (415) 575-4444 or send a tip by text message to TIP411 with “SFPD” in the message.
1:19 PM: Police are trying to locate a man who caused a serious crash after fleeing from a traffic stop in San Francisco’s South of Market neighborhood early Saturday morning, police said today.
Officers attempted to pull the car over for a vehicle code violation at about 1:20 a.m. Saturday, according to police. Instead of stopping, the driver sped away.
The officers notified dispatch about the car but did not immediately pursue it, police said.
A short time later, the officers heard a crash and went to Sixth and Folsom streets, where the vehicle had struck another car and knocked over a fire hydrant, police said.
A man in the other car had to be extricated from the vehicle and was taken to San Francisco General Hospital with injuries that are considered life-threatening, according to police.
Witnesses said the suspect, believed in his mid-20s, ran east on Folsom Street toward Fifth Street after the crash and entered a building under construction, police said.
Officers surrounded the building and searched it but did not find him, police said. He remained at large this morning.
Anyone with information about the case is encouraged to call the Police Department’s anonymous tip line at (415) 575-4444 or send a tip by text message to TIP411 with “SFPD” in the message.
Dan McMenamin, Bay City News
