OAKLAND — Two Oakland police officers stopped a burning van that had just collided with a city vehicle near the Coliseum from rolling down an embankment Thursday morning and then extinguished the fire before firefighters arrived on scene to extricate the driver from the vehicle, authorities said.
The condition of the van driver was not available.
The collision happened at about 7:45 a.m. Thursday in an incline part of the northbound lanes of Hegenberger Road.
Police said the Xfinity van collided with the rear of a City of Oakland flatbed truck, caught fire and then started rolling about 200 feet back southbound on Hegenberger toward the Hegenberger Road offramp from Interstate 880.
Officer Johnna Watson said two Oakland police officers were the first to arrive on the scene and were able to physically stop the burning van from rolling down an embankment, then got a fire extinguisher from their vehicle and put out the fire.
Firefighters were able to extricate the driver at about 8:15 a.m. and he was taken to a hospital.
Oakland Police officers on patrol on-view a van on fire with driver trapped inside and rolling down the street. Officers stop van from rolling, extinguish fire. OFD on scene attempting to extricate driver still trapped inside. #OPDCARES pic.twitter.com/Q5GX9zqNH7
— Oakland Police Dept. (@oaklandpoliceca) September 17, 2020
Watson praised the quick actions of the two officers. “They were able to stop the van from rolling down an embankment, they extinguished the fire which allowed firefighters to immediately start extricating the driver.”
Check back for updates.
Staff writer Rick Hurd contributed to this report.
