A police chase through Downtown San Francisco ended Thursday outside the Moscone Center, where a tech conference was in session.
The San Francisco Police Department said it was assisting the California Highway Patrol at around noon in pursuit of a suspect, whose van crashed on Third Street between Folsom and Howard streets in the city’s South of Market neighborhood, officials said.
Workday, a finance and human resources tech firm, is holding its Workday Rising conference at the center until Friday. Neither Workday nor the California Highway Patrol responded to a request for comment.
“We are asking people to avoid the area of Third Street between Harrison and Howard streets due to police activity,” a police spokesperson said. “This is an active and ongoing investigation.”
Danny Kwong, who works construction in the area, saw the end of the chase when the suspect drove against traffic on Folsom Street before turning onto Third Street. He said police vehicles then pinned the white van against a light pole.
“I saw when he got out to run, but I didn’t see much after that,” he said. “It ended pretty quickly.”
Anand Iyer, an Atlanta resident who was attending the conference, had a meeting at 1:45 p.m. inside the Moscone Center but was delayed 10 minutes due to the street closure and parking.
“It’s concerning, to say the least, but the fact that the person was apprehended right away tells me the authorities are on it,” Iyer said. “The fact that they still cordoned off the area and are doing what they need to do seems to be the sensible thing, despite it being a little inconvenient.”