A San Francisco Police Department car crashed into a defunct business in the Mission District on Wednesday evening after what witnesses said was a chase.
The intersection of Valencia and 22nd streets was roped off shortly before 7 p.m. after the police vehicle drove headfirst into the former location of Lucca Ravioli, a longtime deli that shuttered in 2019.
After the crash, a silver motorcycle was lying on 22nd Street, approximately 50 feet from the store entrance. Witnesses confirmed that it had been a chase, although police officers on the scene refused to comment.
Reached for comment, a spokesperson for the department confirmed that, shortly after 5 p.m., two officers in police SUV pursued a vehicle that was suspected of being involved in a violent crime. The SUV then crashed into the building, injuring two people. Both victims were transported to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries, and the officers themselves were unhurt.
The condition of the motorcyclist was not specified.
The section of Valencia Street on which the crash occurred is partway through a major renovation, in which protected bike lanes have been installed along the center.
San Francisco police officers are permitted to engage in vehicle chases under certain conditions.