Alleged Car Theft + Fatal Crash = Grumbling Muni Patrons

The dénouement of an early morning police chase that left a pair of apparent innocent bystanders dead spilled over into this morning's commute.

The drama started at 4 a.m., when police tailing a Saturn on Page Street ran its plates and discovered it had been reported stolen.

After the red-white-and-blue lights came on, the alleged car thieves opted to not stick around, and blew through a red light on the major artery of Page and Divisadero. The Saturn then broadsided a Chevy Cavalier, killing its two occupants. The Saturn drivers were arrested immediately.

The busy intersection...

remained shut down throughout commute hours, requiring the electric No. 24 bus to awkwardly detour via Haight and Fillmore, necessitating multiple on-the-wire, off-the-wire maneuvers with the bus aerials and much cursing among confused Haight bus patrons unused to the sight of a bus turning left on Fillmore.

Those curious enough to ask their driver what was going on, however, would learn that their inconvenience was trivial compared to that of those two poor folks in the Chevy Cavalier.

— Joe Eskenazi

Photo | Marissa Lagos, S.F. Chronicle