A boy is currently in the intensive care unit of Oakland UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital recovering from skull fracture surgery and a brain hemorrhage four days after the car he was a passenger in was struck by an alleged drunk driver.
The suspect, 35-year-old James Jovan Thomas of San Leandro, was driving on March 20 around 6 p.m. in East Oakland when California Highway Patrol officers attempted to pull him over on suspicion of running a red light. Thomas fled the officers, according to the CHP and a video of the pursuit recorded by a CHP aircraft. The chase lasted about a minute, at which point CHP pulled back “out of concern for public safety.”
“The suspect continued driving recklessly despite the absence of CHP or other nearby law enforcement personnel, briefly resumed normal speeds, and then resumed driving recklessly,” until he hit the passenger car, according to a CHP statement…