Hayward police officer injured in crash following car chase, early morning burglary
HAYWARD, Calif. (KGO) -- Hayward police say an early morning burglary, chase and crash sent one of their own to the hospital on Wednesday. The officer is back home and is expected to be okay.
Hayward PD said the incident started after 5:35 a.m. on Wednesday morning, at the intersection of West Winton Avenue and Cabot Boulevard.
Before 10 a.m., police investigated an unmarked business and expanded the crime scene to include much of the parking lot after a man noticed bullet holes on his truck. He told ABC7 News it was damage was not there the night before.
Hayward PD Officer Cassondra Fovel said the department is still investigating.
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ABC7 News was there as investigators removed several bags of evidence and dusted for fingerprints.
A few blocks away, a second scene involved an officer sliding off the roadway. There was clear signs of a crash along Cabot Boulevard. The pursuit sent an officer and his patrol car off the road, where he took out a hydrant and hit a pole.
DJ Scannell works near the crash site.
"I saw totaled police car," he described. "The whole front end smashed in on the back of a tow truck, being hauled away going down Depot Road. I didn't know what had happened."
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While he was surprised to see a damaged patrol car being towed from the area, he said news about a burglary isn't shocking.
"Not surprised about the robberies," he added. "My fence gets broken into all the time over here. So yeah, I mean, they've come in and we've had cars stolen in the back. We've had cars stolen in the front."
Police believe several armed suspects were attempting to burglarize a business at the intersection of West Winton Avenue and Cabot Boulevard.
"One of the officers who arrived on scene first saw several subjects as they were fleeing in a vehicle," Ofc. Fovel described. "He attempted to catch up to take them into custody and crashed on Cabot several blocks away."
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Fovel explained the department spent much of the morning writing a search warrant for the property, believing it could potentially be an illegal marijuana grow house. As of 10:45 a.m., Fovel said the department was still working to confirm that was the case.
"We have seen the rise of burglaries of individuals looking for these illegal marijuana grows," she added. "So in that respect, it's not uncommon that there are different auto thefts and other burglaries that also take place in the industrial areas throughout Hayward and other Bay Area cities."
No suspect information was immediately available. This is an ongoing investigation.
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