Officers from Oakland to Pleasant Hill fell in behind a man driving a black Mercedes SUV at high speed along Highway 24 and into a residential area Thursday, swerving to avoid the suspect when he allegedly attempted to ram them and finally bringing him to a halt outside his home in Pleasant Hill.
Oakland CHP officers said the chase kicked off at 8:50 p.m. when they attempted to stop the Mercedes for tailgating another car on eastbound Highway 24 at Broadway. They said the driver, later identified as Salvador Cierra, 52, refused to pull over and instead accelerated onto Highway 24 before exiting at Pleasant Hill Road.
At Taylor Blvd and Apollo in Pleasant Hill, Cierra allegedly rammed a CHP patrol car and continued fleeing, according to officers, while at least two helicopters orbited above the scene.
Several NEWS24/680 readers contacted this site as the “caravan” of police cars – led by the Mercedes – sped up Morello Avenue and eventually onto the 300 block of Skander Lane, where Cierra stopped his car and allegedly attempted to flee on foot.
A CHP canine was deployed and bit the fleeing man, according to officers. Cierra was arrested and then transported to a local hospital for treatment of his dog bite. He was booked on charges including felony evading police and assault with a deadly weapon – the Mercedes, as well as an added charge of DUI.
His car had to be towed from the scene.
Despite the speeds and evasive maneuvers, no bystanders or police were believed injured in the chase.
Saw them as they came through Orinda and thought something was up. I don’t remember seeing a Mercedes — just all those lights.
Black Mercedes Syndrome.
That was interesting.
Tailgating? Seriously?
It took my mind off of how much we owe the IRS. Temporarily…
Ha! Putting that one down for “comment of the week!”
Can’t have it both ways Marybeth. Either we want cops to pursue and stop criminals or we want the cops to let them go at the first sign of any resistance. Either way there are potential repercussions.
@Rob. I think you misunderstood me. I was not critical of the officers for pursuing this individual for tailgating but rather the individual for choosing to escalate a relatively minor traffic thing (which IMO he should not have been doing in the first place) into a rather major event that put him, the police, and bystanders in jeopardy.
Marybeth, I apologize…I misunderstood you. I’m glad they grabbed this guy before he slammed into another motorist and hope the chippy is OK. High stress and deadly situation ended well. Have a great weekend.
We’ve never seen so many police cars in one place before! Glad no one was hurt.
Glad he and the police managed not to kill any innocent bystanders over something so minor.