San Francisco police officer killed in crash
by robbery suspect's vehicle

By Ari Burack, Bay City News Service

July 26, 2006

SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) - A San Francisco police officer was killed as he responded to a chase early this morning in the city's Portola district, San Francisco police Officer Maria Oropeza reported.

At about 12:35 a.m., a robbery was reported in the 500 block of Bayshore Boulevard in the Bayview neighborhood, according to Oropeza.

Police arrived, took information from the victim and put out a suspect description, Oropeza said.

A short time later, officers spotted the suspect vehicle, a van, in the McDonald's parking lot on Bayshore Boulevard. They tried to stop the van but the suspects took off, Oropeza said.

A pursuit ensued onto Interstate Highway 280 to South San Francisco and back to San Francisco, where at about 1 a.m., another officer was responding to assist the pursuit.

As the officer drove through the intersection of Cambridge and Felton streets, his car was struck by the suspects' van. The police car spun out, hit the curb, flipped over and struck a utility pole, according to Oropeza.

Fire units responded to the scene, where they extricated the officer from his vehicle, initiated cardiopulmonary resuscitation and transported him to San Francisco General Hospital. Hospital staff continued "a valiant effort to save the officer's life,'' Oropeza said.

The officer succumbed to his injuries shortly thereafter, she said. The identity of the officer is being withheld pending notification of his family. He worked at Bayview station.

Four suspects in the van were taken into custody and also transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Pacific Gas and Electric Co. crews are working to restore power to approximately 500 customers in the city's Excelsior and Portola districts due to the utility pole damage, PG&E spokesman David Eisenhauer reported.

Eisenhauer said crews have been delayed in accessing the area because it is still a crime scene. PG&E expects the customers to have power back by noon today.

A section of I-280 in San Francisco was briefly closed down early this morning after the chase, California Highway Patrol Officer Ben Chaney reported.

According to Chaney, at 12:48 a.m. San Francisco police notified CHP that they were pursuing a vehicle in the area of I-280 and Alemany Boulevard.

Chaney said police asked CHP to shut down the area to look for evidence.

The area was re-opened after about 15 minutes, Chaney said.

Copyright © 2006 by Bay City News, Inc. -- Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited.

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