CHP officers say the BMW's driver, 34-year-old Saint Dejuan Moore, stopped when they pulled him over for speeding on 90th Avenue near Bancroft Avenue. But as they walked up to his car he took off and then caused a fatal car accident. They don't know why.
"It does not appear to be that the BMW was stolen," CHP Officer Sam Morgan said. "There were no wants on it, we are still trying to determine why the driver of the BMW fled the scene."
He crashed into a Lincoln Continental carrying five people. A woman who was sitting in the Continental's center rear seat was killed in the crash. Three other passengers suffered moderate to major injuries and were taken to Highland Hospital in Oakland and Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley for treatment. He said the driver of the Continental did not appear to be injured.
"They were simply minding their own business and unfortunately at the wrong place at the wrong time," Officer Morgan said. "As best we can tell, there was no criminal activity involved on their behalf. They were simply trying to make a left turn from 98th Avenue onto Interstate 580 east."
As they tried to turn left onto I-580 east, the BMW was driving north on 98th Avenue and hit the Lincoln.
CHP officers say this wasn't a high speed chase, it didn't last long enough.
"It took place in about a minute's timespan," Officer Morgan said. "Our officers first contact was at 11:20. They came over the crest of the hill and saw the collision at 11:21, so this particular driver actually got out of sight of the officers and as they were traveling up this hill, they saw the result of the collision."
Authorities are trying to determine why the man ran. They will be doing toxicology tests to see if the driver was under the influence of anything and will be looking into his background to see if he was wanted for anything.
The passenger in the BMW also ran away, they didn't catch him. But officials are looking for him.
Moore, an Oakland resident, is facing at least two felony charges for evading police and vehicular manslaughter.
(Bay City News contributed to this report)
