Chaos unfolded on a stretch of Interstate Highway 680 in San Ramon as a minor car collision escalated into a highway shutdown, authorities said. A man, after crashing his 2012 Mini Cooper, created a standoff when he barricaded himself inside his vehicle, claiming he was armed, leading to a swift response by law enforcement, NBC Bay Area reported.
The harrowing incident started innocuously as a simple fender-bender, but the situation quickly took a dramatic turn when the man refused to exit his car. Officer Tyler Hahn stated that firefighters, attempting to assist, were met with the driver's alarming assertion that he possessed a gun, prompting officials to shut down the impacted southbound section of the highway along San Ramon Valley Boulevard near Bollinger Canyon Road.
With tensions high, the San Ramon police department took to social media to urge the public to steer clear of the area, citing a "barricaded and armed subject on SB 680." The standoff brought traffic to a standstill as it stretched over approximately 30 minutes before the man yielded to the police.
The subject has been detained by CHP. San Ramon Valley Blvd has reopened and the freeway should open shortly. https://t.co/O4PciXHrGS
— San Ramon Police (@SanRamonPolice) May 26, 2024
San Ramon authorities, arriving with an armored rescue vehicle, managed to defuse the situation and apprehend the individual, later to be found unarmed and accused of driving under the influence of drugs, Hahn disclosed, but not before frayed nerves and traffic buildups marked the unexpected detour for many motorists. The freeway and roads have since been reopened as normalcy gradually returned.
