OAKLAND — The driver who fled an Alameda County sheriffs deputy traffic stop led a two-mile chase onto an Oakland International Airport runway before disappearing into San Francisco Bay, authorities said Sunday.
Around 11:50 a.m., a sheriffs deputy patrolling near inbound lanes of Airport Drive saw a newer-model Chevrolet pickup run a stop sigh, Alameda County sheriffs Sgt. Ray Kelly said.
When the officer tried to stop the Chevrolet, it refused to yield and fled before getting onto an access road mostly used by airport personnel, Kelly said.
Moments later, the truck barreled through the airports closed Gate A at more than 50 miles per hour, entering the several hundred acres of flat tarmac that make up the airports runways.
Deputies followed the truck west and north for two miles until it went off-road along the airport propertys western edge. When deputies caught up to the truck, they found the driver had jumped out and made his way to the shoreline.
A K-9 officer assisted with a scent search, which ended with a lost scent at the waters edge, Kelly said.
“What starts out as a simple traffic violation turns into this wild chase,” he said.
Sheriffs deputies called on a helicopter, drones and additional officers, with Oakland and Alameda police boats brought in to aid the search, but there was no sign of the driver as of 6 p.m. Sunday.Kelly noted that the airports property is barren, flat and easy to search.
“If the gentleman got into the water, the temperature is very cold. Hed have to swim quite a distance to get to the nearest land,” he said. “As the hours tick by, if hes in the water, survivability goes down dramatically.”
Conditions ruled out the use of the sheriffs dive team: “The area is so large and dangerous. The tides coming in and its windy out there. Were not going to endanger people at this point.”
Investigators searched the truck, which was registered to a Santa Cruz County address, and found several assault-style Airsoft weapons, masks and military clothing. That could call the drivers motivation for fleeing the traffic stop into question, Kelly said.
“Were not sure if he had a plan to do something more sinister,” he said.
“We were very fortunate he did not get onto a runway and interfere with landing aircraft. It could have been very dangerous. We dont know much about this suspect or his motivation.”
Investigators have reached out to the Federal Bureau of Investigations San Francisco bureau for assistance with the incident, Kelly said.
Active search underway @IFlyOAKland after a suspect fled from deputies and rammed a gate onto the airport tarmac. Suspect fled on foot and may have jumped into the water surroRead More – Source
