New footage captures the moment when a San Francisco police chase ended with a car crashing into a pub's parklet Sunday afternoon, leaving six people injured.
A security camera captured a dark grey Audi SUV whiz down 24th Street with police racing after it. Then came an abrupt end as the car slammed into a parklet at the Napper Tandy, a popular neighborhood Irish pub in the Mission District.
"I thought it was an earthquake or something," Napper Tandy owner Marissa McGarr said. "Just a big bang and smoke."
The crash happened at about 3:30 p.m. as the Super Bowl was about to start. A lot of people were in the parklet waiting for the game to kick off.
Witnesses said the crash caused the parklet cover to collapse onto the car and the people in the parklet. Good Samaritans and emergency crews scrambled to dig them out.
McGarr said she believes the parklet prevented the car from smashing into the packed pub. She said bar patrons inside quickly jumped into action outside.
"Everybody banded together," she said. "Most people were out there lifting up chairs, lifting up debris, checking for people."
Local
The people who were injured are expected to survive.
The police chase started on the other side of the city at Buckingham Way and Winston Avenue near Stonestown Galleria.
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According to police, officers began their pursuit because they were advised the car may have been involved in an earlier theft in Berkely.
This is the latest chase and crash to raise questions among some residents about the new pursuit powers granted to officers under Proposition E, a measure approved by voters last year.
"The concern for me is: Is this worth that policy, and if it's true that it was related to a theft, is that worth sending six people to the hospital?" Supervisor Jackie Fielder said.
According to police, the pursuing officers never exceeded 45 mph during the chase.
Police arrested two women in the SUV.
