This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Crime & Safety

Pedestrian Killed on I-80 Near Albany

The San Francisco resident was reported to be fleeing police on foot across the freeway after they attempted to stop him while driving.

A San Francisco man was struck and killed near Albany on Saturday while running across Interstate 80 following a car chase with the California Highway Patrol, authorities said.

The Alameda County coroner's bureau identified the man Tuesday as Willy Alfils, 51, of San Francisco.

Shortly before 11 p.m. Saturday, CHP officers spotted Alfils driving east on I-80 near Powell Street in San Francisco. 

Find out what's happening in Albanywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"The driver was weaving badly, and officers wanted to check on his status: whether he was impaired, sleepy or having some other type of medical issue," said officer Sam Morgan, CHP spokesman. 

Alfils exited the highway on University Avenue in Berkeley, and officers followed him, said Morgan, believing he would park for a traffic stop. 

Find out what's happening in Albanywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Instead, Alfils continued driving, and ended up on Gilman Street. Alfils drove up the freeway exit ramp onto westbound I-80, said Morgan.

He parked on the shoulder, then got out and ran across the westbound freeway lanes before jumping over the center divider. He ran across the eastbound lanes, and was struck by a vehicle in lane four (the "slow lane").

Morgan said Alfils landed in the road when he was struck, and was then hit by several other vehicles. He sustained fatal injuries as a result. 

All of the drivers who hit him stopped and were interviewed by the CHP. 

Morgan said the CHP has not yet received the toxicology report from the coroner's bureau. The report will indicate what, if anything, was in the man's system and may have caused his "erratic" behavior, Morgan said. 

Toxicology reports generally take two to six weeks to be completed, he added.

See other stories on Albany Patch about traffic safety related to pedestrians and cyclists here. Click the "Keep me posted" button below for alerts when we write about this topic.

If there's something in this article you think , or if something else is amiss, call editor Emilie Raguso at 510-459-8325 or email her at emilier@patch.com. 

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.