KPIX didn’t have too far to travel to find the aftermath of a high speed police chase through the streets of San Francisco when one of its news vans was sideswiped by the SUV the alleged thieves were driving.
The CBS O&O’s 6 p.m. anchors Allen Martin and Dana King tossed to reporter Joe Vazquez who was live on the scene minutes after the pursuit’s dramatic ending. You can watch the video of the report after the jump.
The scene unfolded when a man stole a woman’s backpack containing an iPad around 5 p.m. The suspect jumped into a silver Mercedes SUV but not before drawing the attention of dozens of witnesses who called police according to the San Francisco Chronicle who said,
The robbers didn’t help their cause by sideswiping a KPIX van as they tried to get away. The TV crew notified their assignment desk, and colleagues were quickly on the way, a CBS staffer said. The news crew had been preparing to cover a community safety meeting with police officials and city supervisors at the Bean There cafe on Steiner Street that, as the invitation indicated, was convened “in light of a recent string of cell-phone muggings and criminal activity.”
After hitting the news van the alleged thieves broadsided a Mazda minivan before slamming into a parked car to bring an end to the chase. The driver of the minivan was rushed into surgery, but was later reported to be in stable condition.
Here’s the report from Joe Vazquez on the scene: