The Wilder Road off-ramp was closed for six hours for a crime scene investigation, but police are looking for any witnesses who may know what happened on Highway 24 that led up to the officer-involved shooting.
Sheriff's investigators say the suspect vehicle was parked along the eastbound Wilder Road exit, just off Highway 24 past the Caldecott Tunnel. Around 4 p.m. a CHP officer investigating an injury hit and run incident saw the car that matched the suspect description. A tool box was opened next to the front tire, and there was front end damage to the silver Honda which had no license plates.
At some point the officer fired his weapon at the driver, hitting him in the torso. Investigators aren't saying what led to the shooting. They also won't say whether a motorcycle crash about an hour earlier is connected. That happened on Highway 24 near the Broadway exit in Oakland and it caused a major traffic backup.
"After we have all the information then we'll be able to draw a rational conclusion as to what transpired," said CHP Officer Sam Morgan. When asked how seriously the motorcyclist was injured, he said, "Serious enough to be transported to Highland Hospital. I don't have the status of his condition."
Police have been examining a black travel bag that was sitting next to the open trunk of the suspect vehicle. The driver was taken by ambulance to John Muir Hospital in Walnut Creek and on Friday night his condition is unknown.
