Shooting on Bay Bridge kills one, hospitalizes two, causes crash

SAN FRANCISCO >> A shooting on the Bay Bridge early Monday left one person dead and two others hospitalized, and caused two vehicles to crash, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The car-to-car shooting also resulted in the closure of all five eastbound lanes of the span, which backed up traffic into San Francisco as the morning commute was beginning.

The CHP said the driver of a silver vehicle opened fire on a Mitsubishi traveling east, hitting its driver and two passengers. The Mitsubishi then crashed into a Honda.

The Mitsubishi driver died at the scene, according to the CHP. Authorities did not identify the driver or provide an update on the conditions of two people who were taken away by ambulance.

A Porsche also was struck by gunfire, but it was not clear if any of its occupants were injured.

The CHP received reports about the crash at 2:23 a.m., then reports of a shooting a minute later.

“It was basically one and the same,” said CHP Officer Kris Borer.

The Mitsubishi was in the far right lane and the Honda in the middle lane near the Treasure Island exit when shots rang out, according to the CHP. Borer said the Mitsubishi then swerved into the Honda, and both vehicles crashed.

Raul Lopez told KGO-TV that he heard five shots as he drove home from work, just before the Mitsubishi crashed into his car.

“Once I heard the five ‘pops,’ the guy in the SUV just hits me,” Lopez told the station. “He turns around, we both turn around, and I’m lucky the other cars didn’t hit me or hit him.”

All eastbound lanes of the Bay Bridge were closed until about 6:45 a.m., and the CHP diverted traffic off the span in San Francisco. Three of the lanes were opened at that time, and the CHP cleared the other two about an hour after that.

Additional details about the shooting, including a description of the suspect, were not immediately available.