Odd night on Bay Bridge after shooting by police
An unusual scene unfolded on the Bay Bridge in the predawn hours Sunday as an investigation of an officer-involved shooting closed all eastbound lanes for about five hours, stranding drivers headed for the East Bay along with their tipsy passengers.
The shooting occurred when a red Cadillac came barreling down the shoulder of the road heading straight for California Highway Patrol investigators at the scene of a crash, prompting an officer to fire multiple rounds into the car, according to CHP Officer Vu Williams. The driver was in stable condition as
of noon Sunday, he said.
All eastbound lanes were immediately closed so officers could examine the shooting scene and interview witnesses. Meanwhile, marooned drivers were left to entertain themselves for hours.
“Everyone was coming back from a night out in San Francisco, so there were people who were passed out drunk, close to vomiting as it was, getting sick on the bridge — it was ugly,” said Rami Dahud, a 34-year-old Millbrae resident and Uber driver who got stuck on the bridge shortly after 4 a.m. on a trip to take a passenger home to Pittsburg.
Some slept in their cars, others climbed atop car roofs to watch the sunrise, and still more relieved themselves off the side of the bridge or passed the time by smoking marijuana, stuck motorists said.
Some people took selfies, and others got out of their cars and introduced themselves to each other, Dahud recalled.
The California Highway Patrol eventually rerouted drivers through Treasure Island but began with the back of the bridge, so those who got stuck first were the last to escape the congestion, motorists said.
The incident that caused the closure began around 3:25 a.m., when CHP officers initially responded to a collision about a mile west of the toll plaza involving two vehicles in the eastbound lanes, Williams said.
Because of the extent of the damage and debris from the accident, multiple officers and Caltrans employees were on the scene working to clear the roadway, he said.
During their investigation, a car that was not involved in the crash suddenly started approaching the officers, Williams said.
“A red Cadillac came down the right shoulder of the bridge. Officers gave multiple commands to stop. After several commands to stop, multiple rounds were fired and the vehicle came to rest,” he said.
The driver of the car, who was not identified, was transported to Highland Hospital, Williams said.
Two passengers in the car were unharmed and were being interviewed by investigators, he said.
Two eastbound lanes reopened around 8:30 a.m., and the remaining three lanes were open by 9:18 a.m., according to the San Francisco Department of Emergency Management. Traffic recovered quickly and was moving at freeway speeds, Williams said about an hour after all lanes were reopened.
For those stuck on the bridge, though, the closure felt like it lasted forever.
“The mood was actually kind of playful for the first hour and a half or so,” Dahud said. “I mean, how often do you get to stroll around on the Bay Bridge in the middle of the night?
“But as day broke, people started to get really frustrated,” he said.
“It just kept dragging on and on, and there were no updates about when we could get off the bridge,” said Hughes Chiang, 27, a Fremont resident who got stuck while shuttling his brother and friend across the bridge as the night’s designated driver.
The three walked around the bridge looking at shell casings from the shootout and napped during the hours-long standstill, Chiang said.
But it wasn’t all bad, they said.
“The sunrise is probably the only good part out of this whole thing,” Chiang said.
“It was unpleasant, but there was a unique novelty to it. Walking around on the bridge at night. Sitting on the Bay Bridge outside your car, watching the sun come up,” Dahud said. “As far as the experience itself is concerned, it’s something you’re going to remember.”
“How often do you get to stroll around on the Bay Bridge in the middle of the night? Rami Dahud of Millbrae
Filipa Ioannou and Trisha Thadani are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: fioannou@sfchronicle.com, tthadani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @obioannoukenobi, @trishathadani