Murder suspects killed in fiery San Leandro crash

(KRON / KTXL) — Bay Area law enforcement officers chased murder suspects on Interstate-880 early Monday morning until the suspects’ car crashed into a tree and burst into flames, investigators said.

The fiery crash happened just before 2 a.m. in San Leandro on Davis Street. Deputies rescued a 14-year-old girl out of the backseat moments before the car was fully engulfed in flames. The driver and front seat passenger, both men, were unconscious and died inside the car, investigators said.

The deadly chase unfolded after Alameda County Sheriff’s deputies received a “Be On The Lookout” alert from the Manteca Police Department for a stolen gray Toyota Camry with multiple suspects inside, investigators said.

MPD advised that Toyota Camry had been stolen out of Oakland before it was used as a getaway vehicle for a Manteca murder.

The murder happened just after 10 p.m. Sunday, Manteca police said. A woman was suffering from a gunshot wound when she stumbled into a Planet Fitness gym on West Yosemite Avenue and died, according to MPD. “Officers learned that the shooting occurred in front of a nearby business,” MPD wrote.

The suspected killers fled the scene in the Toyota Camry. Early Monday morning, the car was spotted 58 miles west, traveling northbound on I-880 in Alameda County.

Deputies chased the car and a high-speed pursuit ensued, according to the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office.

“Deputies were alerted to the vehicle near A Street at Hathaway Avenue in the city of Hayward. Deputies ultimately located the vehicle as it traveled northbound on Interstate-880 near the Interstate 238 junction. Deputies attempted to make a high-risk traffic stop on the vehicle, but the driver ignored the activated lights and sirens of the marked patrol vehicles. The driver exited the highway and continued to evade capture as he drove at a high rate of speed through the city of San Leandro. As the vehicle drove westbound on Davis Street, the San Leandro Police Department deployed a tire deflation device to immobilize the vehicle. The driver attempted to drive around the device, lost control of the vehicle and collided head-on with a tree,” ACSO wrote.

Two men in the front seat were knocked unconscious from the impact. A girl was trapped in the backseat.

Deputies pulled the 14-year-old girl out just moments before the car was engulfed in flames with the two men still inside, ACSO said.

The Alameda County Sheriff’s Office wrote, “(The girl) attempted to exit from the rear passenger compartment after the collision, but her foot was trapped. The front of the vehicle began to smoke and eventually caught fire. Deputies safely rescued the (girl) from the rear of the vehicle. The male suspects in the driver compartment were unresponsive and, despite numerous attempts to arouse the suspects, deputies were unable to extract them from the vehicle before it became completely engulfed in flames. The Alameda County Fire Department responded and extinguished the fire. The suspects in the driver compartment were pronounced deceased on the scene. The juvenile was taken to a local hospital for treatment.”

Once the blaze was doused, and the two bodies were removed by the Alameda County Coroner’s Bureau, investigators found a firearm inside the Toyota Camry, according to ACSO.

Investigators said the Toyota had been carjacked from a victim in the City of Oakland on Sunday.

Officials have not released the identities of the Manteca murder victim, nor the names of the two men killed in the San Leandro pursuit. On Monday afternoon, investigators said they are still attempting to identify the two men.