Stolen-car chase ends on Bay Bridge after suspect hangs beneath span

A stolen Honda pursuit that began near 8th and Market streets ended in one of the city’s most precarious places, with the driver climbing beneath the Bay Bridge near Treasure Island, hanging from the span’s crossbeams, then returning to the bridge and being taken into custody.

San Francisco police released video of the April 1 chase on April 23, showing drone footage, body-camera footage and an AI-generated voice-over. Police said officers first got a report of a stolen vehicle from South San Francisco traveling near 8th and Market, then tracked the car as it moved through city streets and onto the freeway. The pursuit lasted about 30 minutes before the vehicle stopped on the bridge. Spike strips did not end the chase, and the California Highway Patrol joined San Francisco officers as they prepared a rescue response and brought in a crisis negotiation team.

The episode underscored how quickly a stolen-car call can turn into a bridge emergency with risks for drivers, officers and anyone caught in the traffic backup. The Bay Bridge, which carries Interstate 80 across the bay between San Francisco and Alameda County, is one of the region’s most heavily used commute routes. 511.org lists westbound toll traffic at $8.50, or $4.25 for carpools during weekday commute periods, and Caltrans says rehabilitation work on the bridge is continuing through 2027, with lane and ramp impacts that can already slow traffic.

That matters because even a single pursuit can ripple far beyond the original theft. A University of California, Berkeley engineering analysis found Bay Bridge morning travel speeds were 32% slower than four years earlier in one congestion study, making any incident on the span more disruptive for San Francisco and Oakland-bound drivers. With commute patterns already strained, a stalled chase on the bridge can snarl emergency access and magnify the danger created by the suspect’s decision to stop in the middle of a regional artery.

The release also highlighted San Francisco’s expanding reliance on drones and automated license plate readers in auto-crime enforcement. City officials said the drone program is meant to improve situational awareness, officer safety, de-escalation and the ability to avoid unnecessary police chases. In 2024, the city said drones and license plate readers were helping lead to arrests in auto-crime cases, and auto break-ins were down 57% compared with the year before. The suspect in the Bay Bridge case has not been publicly identified.