Berkeley police arrest 2 after Flock alert on stolen car
The pair crashed when they tried to escape arrest, resulting in a downed power line and damaged tree on Channing Way, according to initial reports.
Berkeley police arrested two men from Richmond after getting a Flock alert about their stolen car Thursday afternoon, authorities report.
The men fled from an officer who tried to stop them and tried to evade capture by hiding in a West Berkeley neighborhood, police said.
Ultimately, officers found both men and witnesses identified them as the suspects, authorities said.
The incident began around 2:30 p.m. when Berkeley police got a hit from the Flock automated license plate reader system about the stolen car, which was identified in radio traffic as a gray Toyota Prius, on University Avenue.
Police quickly caught up with driver but he sped off instead of stopping, then crashed into a tree near Ninth Street and Channing Way minutes later and took cover in the block.
Police set up a perimeter and began to search for the men as witnesses provided details to officers about what they had seen.
Officers detained one of the men in the 2400 block of Eighth Street, north of Dwight Way, at about 2:40 p.m., according to radio traffic.
They stopped the other man at about 2:45 p.m. near Sixth Street and Dwight Way, police said.
The crash also resulted in a downed power line and damaged tree in the 900 block of Channing Way, according to initial reports.
Authorities called for PG&E to handle the power line and for city forestry workers to address a large tree that was "completely over a car."
Both services had responded by 4 p.m. to clear the hazards, according to radio traffic.
This story will be updated when additional details are available.
Update, June 13: A brief update from a reader who lives near the tree hit by alleged car thieves this week.
The driver was northbound on Eighth when he tried to turn left onto Channing but "since they were going too fast they understeered and crashed into the tree. That broke the tree’s trunk just above the impact point."
"The tree then fell onto the car, as the driver and passenger fled. The whole thing was captured on camera by a neighbor’s surveillance system. The tree pushed the electric and internet cables down with it, but both have been restored now."
"The owner of the car came by later on. He’s an Uber driver and his kid’s car seat was still in the back when the car got stolen earlier in the day."
