2 dead after routine traffic stop on Bay Area highway turns fatal, CHP says

"Two people are dead after a routine traffic stop on a Bay Area highway turned into a fatal pursuit, the California Highway Patrol said. Around 3:40 a.m. on Saturday, CHP officers from the Dublin office observed a driver in a white Mercedes sedan "traveling at a high rate of speed," the agency said in a press release. The driver was spotted on westbound Interstate 580 near Eden Canyon Road in Castro Valley."

"When officers initiated a traffic stop, the driver "refused to pull over," CHP said. This prompted the two officers in a CHP vehicle to chase after the sedan. The pursuit headed toward San Leandro, and the Mercedes driver allegedly merged onto westbound I-238, where they then tried to exit onto East 14th Street. "For reasons still under investigation, the Mercedes crashed into the soundwall" while exiting the freeway, CHP said. The officers pursuing the sedan also crashed into the wall."

"The officers pursuing the sedan also crashed into the wall. When first responders arrived at the scene, they discovered the Mercedes driver and a passenger were dead. A second passenger was taken to the hospital with "major injuries," and both CHP officers were hospitalized with "major, non-life-threatening injuries." CHP's Golden Gate Division Multi-Disciplinary Accident Investigation Team is now handling the probe."

At about 3:40 a.m., California Highway Patrol officers from the Dublin office observed a white Mercedes sedan traveling at a high rate of speed on westbound Interstate 580 near Eden Canyon Road in Castro Valley. Officers initiated a traffic stop but the driver refused to pull over, prompting a pursuit toward San Leandro. The Mercedes allegedly merged onto westbound I-238 and attempted to exit onto East 14th Street, then crashed into a soundwall while exiting the freeway. The pursuing CHP vehicle also collided with the wall. Emergency responders found the Mercedes driver and a passenger deceased; a second passenger and both CHP officers were hospitalized with major injuries. The Golden Gate Division Multi-Disciplinary Accident Investigation Team is handling the investigation.

Read at SFGATE