A routine traffic stop near San Leandro spiraled into a freeway crash and a tense SWAT standoff Thursday morning after a blue Ford Mustang refused to pull over, sped the wrong way down eastbound Interstate 580, and slammed into another car near 164th Avenue. Both occupants of the Mustang and the driver of the vehicle they hit were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries, and the freeway was shut down in both directions for more than two hours.
According to a CBS Sacramento report, the incident began around 11:25 a.m. when an Alameda County Sheriff's Office deputy tried to stop the Mustang for a traffic violation. The driver failed to yield, and rather than chase the car onto the freeway, deputies backed off and shifted to overhead tracking, according to the East Bay Times. The sheriff's office located the Mustang using an automated license plate reader and deployed a drone to keep visual contact with the car as it fled, per the same report.
The decision not to pursue didn't stop the danger. The Mustang went the wrong way on eastbound I-580 before colliding with another vehicle near 164th Avenue, and California Highway Patrol officers attempted a high-risk stop as the situation unfolded, the East Bay Times reports. The Mustang eventually became disabled near 150th Avenue, setting up a standoff that would stretch on for roughly half an hour.
Standoff Ends With Armored Vehicles and Chemical Irritant
Once the car was disabled, its occupants initially refused commands to get out. The San Leandro Police Department assisted with an armored rescue vehicle, and the sheriff's office special response unit responded with two armored rescue vehicles of its own, according to the East Bay Times report. The passenger surrendered at about 12:26 p.m., but the driver continued to refuse commands to exit, prompting authorities to deploy a chemical irritant to gain compliance. The driver finally got out of the car at about 12:51 p.m.
Authorities issued a SigAlert as the standoff played out, with some lanes reopening around 12:54 p.m. and all lanes back open in both directions by about 1:45 p.m., when the SigAlert was cancelled, per the East Bay Times. Both suspects and the driver of the other vehicle were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries. No names or ages have been released for the Mustang's occupants, and the sheriff's office has not disclosed what charges were booked against them or whether any contraband was found in the car.
Drones Over Dashcams: ACSO's Preferred Tactic
The decision to track rather than chase reflects a now-familiar playbook for the Alameda County Sheriff's Office. The agency's Real Time Information Center is integrated with more than 100 Flock Safety automated license plate readers and RAVEN Drones as First Responders launched from rooftop bases across unincorporated parts of the county, according to Alameda County records, which note that the county board approved a Flock AeroDome DFR agreement in July 2025.
It's not the first time the tactic has been used to avoid a ground chase in the same area. In late May, the Real Time Information Center used ALPR alerts and drone tracking to apprehend a fleeing burglary suspect in San Leandro after the suspect's vehicle became disabled, according to the Alameda County Sheriff's Office. And back in April, Hoodline reported deputies used the same Flock ALPR and Raven drone combination to track a robbery suspect fleeing along I-580 into San Leandro, a chase that ended on MacArthur Boulevard after the vehicle struck another car and led to two arrests.
Why Deputies Avoid the Chase
The restraint isn't just tactical — it's also legally incentivized. Under California Vehicle Code § 17004.7, public law enforcement agencies can receive statutory immunity from civil liability in pursuit-related crashes if they maintain and annually train officers on detailed pursuit policies that prioritize public safety, according to Liebert Cassidy Whitmore, which notes the sheriff's office's pursuit policy and training were previously affirmed by California appellate courts following a 2014 civil suit.
Yet even without a ground pursuit, the driver's decision to enter oncoming freeway traffic carried enormous risk. Wrong-way collisions account for less than 0.1% of all highway crashes in California but are among the most lethal, with about 37 Californians killed each year. Wrong-way crashes can be especially lethal compared with standard collisions. Caltrans has responded by installing reverse red pavement reflectors and automated flashing wrong-way signs at freeway exits, measures that pilot evaluations found reduced reported wrong-way incidents by 44% to 64%.
Under California Vehicle Code § 2800.2, evading a pursuing officer with willful or wanton disregard for public safety is classified as felony reckless evading, a wobbler offense carrying up to three years in state prison and $10,000 in fines, according to the Shouse Law Group. Separately, driving on the wrong side of a divided highway is a misdemeanor under Vehicle Code § 21651(b) that can escalate to a felony if it results in severe bodily injury or death, per Grace Legal Group. The sheriff's office has not said what charges were ultimately booked against the Mustang's occupants.
A Familiar Corridor for Fleeing Mustangs
This incident involved a Ford Mustang fleeing law enforcement in the East Bay's freeway network.
