Driver Sideswipes City Councilman's Car, Antioch Mayor First to Arrive

An SUV driver sideswiped the car of an Antioch city councilman and a Caltrans worker on Tuesday night - and the first person to show up was the mayor.

Good thing Mayor Wade Harper is also an ex-police officer. He stayed calm and collect upon finding the driver who allegedly struck the car of his colleague at A Street and Rossi Avenue, and a BART contractor's truck near the A Street offramp from Highway 4 about 10 p.m.

Since his colleague was OK, Harper noticed the 35-year-old Antioch driver in the SUV had been hurt the most. That driver was taken to the hospital later with major injuries, police said. And the two workers in the BART truck suffered minor injuries, police said.

“I asked someone to get a fire extinguisher, and I talked to the person in car, telling him he’d be OK,” Harper said, recalling the scene.

Harper stayed while police and Contra Costa County firefighters arrived and cut the driver out of his mangled car, which took more than an hour. In a statement, police said that speed was a factor in the collision.

“You know, I can never get used to seeing someone that’s hurt,” Harper said. “My prayer is that he’ll be OK.”

Contact Us