Fatal Berkeley hit-and-run started with attack on another woman; police search for suspect

BERKELEY, Calif. (KGO) -- Berkeley police are searching for a suspect in a grey, four-door Nissan sedan that was involved in a hit-and-run on Sixth Street near University Avenue, which left a woman dead, and another woman attacked and trapped in his car.

UC Berkeley Police Sgt. Jacob Westlie says around 10 a.m. Monday, police heard a woman screaming as she was being punched in the head in a car parked on Sixth Street. When officers pulled up behind them, the man driving the car made a u-turn, hitting a woman on the sidewalk.

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"The suspect vehicle ended up driving onto the sidewalk of University Avenue, where it struck (the woman) on the sidewalk," says Officer Bryon White with the Berkeley Police Department.

The woman struck was pronounced dead at the scene, while the driver took off towards the freeway with the other woman still inside the car, Sgt. Westlie said.

Bettina Vanlengerich, who lives in Oakland, came out for a yoga class, only to find out that the studio was closed due to the police investigation.

"It's pretty scary and it is right outside the yoga studio. I'm concerned, what if someone just trying to go to yoga like me, gets hit by a car. That's really scary," says Vanlengerich.

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UC Berkeley police is not releasing any descriptions of the man or the woman in the car at the time, nor any information on the license plate number.

Anyone with information about the suspect is asked to call Berkeley police.

Stay with ABC7 News for the latest details on this developing story.