Police: Man dies in Oakland hills vehicle collision while fleeing attempted robbery scene
Police said the car that crash, killing one suspect, was linked to a purse-snatching reported half an hour earlier.
OAKLAND — A 23-year-old robbery suspect died Wednesday afternoon when the vehicle he was driving crashed into a tree in an Oakland hills neighborhood, authorities said.
A second suspect, a man, fled the scene on foot and was being sought, authorities said.
The name of the man who died was not immediately released and police were trying to confirm where he lived.
The fatal crash happened about 12:13 p.m. Wednesday in the 5900 block of Buena Vista Avenue, a residential neighborhood in the Upper Rockridge area.
Authorities said the two men had tried to rob a resident in the area of his computer, which they grabbed from his vehicle. The victim confronted the suspects and was able to get the computer back from them before they started driving away from the scene, authorities said.
While the pair were fleeing, their car they were in crashed into a tree on the driver’s side, ejecting the 23-year-old and causing fatal injuries, authorities said.
The second man fled before police got to the scene. A detailed description of him was not released.
Police said they recovered from the vehicle a purse that had been stolen from a 73-year-old woman less than a half-hour earlier in a bank parking lot in the 300 block of 12th Street in downtown Oakland. The woman was sitting in her vehicle in the parking lot when two men broke a window and took the purse; they then drove off in the same vehicle that was involved in the Buena Vista Avenue attempted robbery.
Police said they believe the two men are suspects in other Oakland robberies and are reviewing those cases.
Police and Crime Stoppers of Oakland are offering up to $5,000 in reward money for information leading to the arrest of the man who fled the crash scene. Anyone with information may call police at 510-238-3326 or Crime Stoppers at 510-777-8572.
The Oakland Police Department is investigating a fatal vehicle collision that occurred just before 12:15 pm, on March 8, 2023, in the 5900 block of Buena Vista Avenue. pic.twitter.com/M8Ldn0R29U
— Oakland Police Dept. (@oaklandpoliceca) March 9, 2023
Contact George Kelly at 408-859-5180.