Police are seeking the whereabouts of 24-year-old Richmond resident Richard Contreras who is suspected of driving a stolen vehicle that collided with an AC Transit bus and caused the bus to slam into a house, damage a gas line and injure at least 11 people in Richmond Friday evening, a police lieutenant said.
The collision occurred shortly after 5:30 p.m. when a Richmond police officer spotted a stolen maroon Honda, according to Lt. Andre Hill.
The officer ran the car's license plates and determined it was stolen but had not initiated any lights or sirens when the vehicle fled at a high speed, Hill said.
The car crashed into an AC Transit bus just a few blocks later at 18th Street and Burbeck Avenue, causing the bus to careen into a home on the 700 block of 18th Street, Hill said.
A woman and her two young daughters were inside the home at the time of the crash and suffered minor injuries. They were taken to a hospital for observation with injuries that were not expected to be life threatening.
AC Transit Bus Plows into Richmond Home
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In addition, eight people on the bus, including the driver, were taken to hospitals with non-life threatening injuries, Hill said.
The home was severely damaged in the crash, and a city engineer has red-tagged the structure tonight, marking it as uninhabitable, Hill said.
The home was part of a duplex, and the other half of the duplex remains inhabitable, but is currently without power.
The bus also appears to have sustained major to moderate damage, Hill said.
Of particular concern after the crash was a severed gas line, which caused police to evacuate other homes in the area until fire crews and PG&E and could cap the line. The area has since been declared safe and residents have been allowed back into their homes, Hill said.
Police were able to take a juvenile passenger in the stolen vehicle into custody at the scene, but are still looking for the driver, Contreras, who is thought to be the older brother of the passenger
Contreras is described as standing 5 feet 11 inches tall, 150 pounds, black hair and brown eyes. Anyone with information about Contreras whereabouts or information about the crash is urged to contact Richmond police at (510) 233-1214.
