Carjacking suspect crashes in Berkeley while fleeing cops

A driver crashed in downtown Berkeley after carjacking a vehicle in Oakland while fleeing from police Friday afternoon, according to initial reports.

Details were limited as of publication time.

But, according to preliminary information, the incident began when police in Vallejo spotted a stolen vehicle there Friday afternoon.

Officers initially began following the stolen vehicle with the help of a CHP helicopter, authorities said.

Scroll down for updates to the story.

The driver ended up getting off the freeway in Emeryville and heading into Oakland, with reports of multiple hit-and-run collisions along the way.

Authorities said a man from the stolen car then carjacked a vehicle in Oakland before crashing in downtown Berkeley on Shattuck Avenue.

There were also reports that an Oakland police officer may have been struck as the suspect driver fled, but no additional details were available.

Readers said dozens of officers remained in the area of Haste and Fulton streets, which were closed, as of publication time.

The driver of the carjacking vehicle was reportedly taken to Highland Hospital for assessment.

The Scanner will update this story if additional information becomes available.

Update, 6:20 p.m. The Oakland Police Department provided the following statement Friday at about 6:10 p.m.

"The Oakland Police Department (OPD) is aware of an incident in which a stolen vehicle entered the city of Oakland just before 4:30 p.m. on June 27, 2025. The incident started outside the city of Oakland, and OPD is not the lead agency in the investigation. No further information is available at this time as this is an active and ongoing investigation."

Update, 6:45 p.m. Authorities provided several other details Friday evening as the investigation continued.

The incident began as a stolen vehicle in Vallejo, which exited the freeway in Emeryville and ended up in Oakland, police said.

There were then reports of multiple hit-and-run collisions in Oakland, at which point Oakland police stopped the stolen car and arrested one of its occupants, police said.

A second man who had been in the stolen car jumped out of it and carjacked a different vehicle to evade arrest, authorities said.

Officers pursued him up to the area of Tunnel Road and Highway 13, where a law enforcement helicopter picked him up again, police said.

Berkeley police then began getting reports of additional hit-and-runs, including of pedestrians, and responded to the area.

A Berkeley police officer spotted the carjacking vehicle in the Southside neighborhood near UC Berkeley and initiated a short pursuit near Telegraph Avenue and Haste Street, BPD said.

The carjacking suspect and a Berkeley police officer then ended up colliding at Shattuck Avenue and Haste Street.

The officer was not injured but the carjacking suspect was taken to Highland Hospital with potentially serious injuries, authorities said.

Berkeley police said the area would be closed for some time and that the California Highway Patrol would handle the collision portion of the investigation.

OPD will handle the stolen vehicle recovery, Oakland hit-and-run reports and the carjacking in that city, and Berkeley police will handle the short pursuit that ended in the collision downtown.

Berkeley police said they had not located any pedestrians who may have been injured by the fleeing driver despite initial reports that people had been struck.