A hit-and-run and attempted carjacking terrified parents on the Berkeley school run Tuesday morning, according to witnesses and school officials.
A heavy police response rushed to Emerson Elementary, 2800 Forest Ave., on the edge of the Claremont neighborhood at around 8 a.m.
The Berkeley Police Department quickly apprehended the suspect after he hit and injured three pedestrians before ditching a damaged BMW near the Emerson campus, according to police and school authorities.
Two adults were injured by the suspect driving on a Belrose Avenue sidewalk, police said. Another adult was hit on Derby Avenue. All three have been hospitalized, police said.
After abandoning the smashed-up BMW, the suspect tried to carjack another vehicle for his getaway, but fled on foot to College Avenue, where police busted him, Berkeley police said.
“He didn’t get very far before the BPD caught him,” said Christine Aguilar, who saw the aftermath from her home near the school. “Everyone outside was from the school.”
Aguilar said that the suspect “scared the bejesus” out of a mother and her daughter when he tried to steal their car.
The trail of mayhem left five crime scenes for the police to investigate.
KTVU reported that a man was injured while walking his dog and was dragged for a block by the vehicle. Another man riding a bicycle got hit, as well as a woman who struck her head on the pavement.
Principal Jana Holmes texted parents that a car had crashed into the back of the school on Garber Street, but that police had apprehended the suspect.
“School continues this morning and is in session,” she wrote.
With a helicopter circling overhead and a raft of first responders on their block, Richard and Rosemary Muller said they haven’t seen this type of activity on Garber Street in the 58 years they’ve lived there.
“Nothing like this,” Richard said. “We heard the helicopter first. It looked like it was circling our house.”
“It’s a very peaceful, dead-end street,” said Rosemary.