San Francisco police chased a car that ended up in a fiery crash with a taxi, killing all three people in the fleeing vehicle.
California Highway Patrol spokesman Officer Vu Williams said the brief chase Saturday night began after an officer tried to pull over the driver of a white Chevrolet sedan seen rotating in circles in the middle of a neighborhood street, reported The Associated Press.
The car drove away and the officer gave chase but stopped the pursuit after the car began racing through red lights. Moments later the car crashed into a taxi and burst into flames, killing all three passengers, Williams said.
Williams said the officer made a judgment call to end the pursuit because of the people out on the streets due to Super Bowl activities. About two miles from where the chase began, thousands were in Super Bowl City waiting to see Alicia Keys perform and Metallica was playing at AT&T Park, six blocks from where the white sedan was first spotted.
"The risks to continue chasing outweighed stopping the car," Williams said.
He said the taxi driver had minor injuries.
The three people killed were not identified.
“The whole car burst into such intense flames — bang! — nobody could survive,” witness Neal Taylor told KPIX-TV. “There was no movement or sounds of any people … so we couldn’t help them. There was nothing we could do.”
KGO-TV reported that some of the victims had been attending the NFL Experience at Super Bowl City.
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