A woman died after climbing over a guardrail on the Sneath Lane overpass and falling onto Interstate 280 below, following a police chase and standoff with South San Francisco officers that began Monday night. The confrontation, which started around 8:30 p.m. and stretched south into San Bruno, involved a disabled vehicle, a barricaded standoff, and a string of less-lethal tactics that police say failed to stop the woman before she went over the rail.
A Chase That Ended on an Overpass
According to CBS News, officers located a vehicle associated with the woman, who police said had multiple outstanding arrest warrants. When officers first tried to contact her, she brandished a pair of scissors and got into the driver's seat. An officer also deployed a stun gun, which proved ineffective before she fled; officers followed as the chase went south into San Bruno. During the pursuit, she rammed a South San Francisco police vehicle multiple times while trying to evade officers. The vehicle eventually became disabled on the Sneath Lane overpass at Interstate 280, setting the stage for a standoff.
Once the car was stopped, the woman remained barricaded inside, per the same account. A police K-9 was deployed in an attempt to apprehend her, and a crisis negotiation team tried to communicate with her, but those efforts were unsuccessful, the report states.
Less-Lethal Tactics Failed to Stop Her
Officers attempted several less-lethal measures during the standoff. After crisis negotiators failed to establish communication, officers fired pepper-ball projectiles into the vehicle. The projectiles prompted the woman to exit the vehicle and flee on foot toward the guardrail. As she ran toward the edge, an officer fired a sponge round, which proved ineffective. Officers had also deployed spike strips earlier in the pursuit.
After the sponge round failed to stop her, the woman climbed over the guardrail, intentionally going over the barrier before landing on the freeway below. Officers stopped approaching traffic and began medical aid, and she was taken to a trauma center, where she later died from her injuries.
Investigation Continues, Woman Not Identified
Police have not identified the woman, and the circumstances surrounding the incident remained under investigation, according to the outlet's reporting. The South San Francisco Police Department, which issued a press release on the incident, said officers were not injured during the encounter. The department asked anyone with additional information to call 650-877-8900.
Standoffs that spill onto active freeways carry their own dangers beyond the immediate confrontation, as seen in a separate incident in Los Angeles where a woman was seen dangling from an overpass before falling onto a passing car, according to Los Angeles, CA Patch, which reported the freeway was shut down afterward. No further details connect that case to the San Bruno incident, but both underscore how quickly a roadside standoff can turn into a freeway emergency.
For now, the exact sequence of events atop the Sneath Lane overpass, and what led the woman to climb over the rail, remains something only the ongoing investigation may clarify. South San Francisco police have not released additional details beyond what was shared in their press release.
