Chaos on Interstate 680: All lanes closed after driver barricades himself after wreck on freeway

SAN RAMON — Chaos broke out on an East Bay freeway Saturday night after a two-car crash that ended with one car in the bushes and that driver barricading himself in the vehicle and threatening that he had a gun, authorities said.

It turned out that was not the case, and the CHP took the driver into custody after San Ramon police brought out an armored rescue tank, authorities said.

It all happened after the wreck about 5:20 p.m. on southbound Interstate 680 near the Bollinger Canyon exit ramp.

According to the CHP, nobody in the crash was injured. But one vehicle wound up going off the freeway off-ramp and into some bushes, and that driver “became extremely agitated,” according to the agency.

The CHP said the driver threatened a passer-by trying to help that he had a gun and also threatened firefighters and rescue workers. For that reason, the CHP said it deemed it necessary to shut down all lanes of the freeway and issue a Sig Alert for severe traffic about 5:50 p.m.

Two lanes were opened about 50 minutes later, and all four lanes were opened by 7 p.m., according to the CHP.

Police also barricaded San Ramon Valley Boulevard south of Bollinger Canyon Road until about 6:35 p.m.

In the interim, San Ramon police also came to the scene with an armored rescue vehicle. San Ramon Police Chief Denton Carlson on X (formerly Twitter) said that when officers in the vehicle began making announcements, “the subject exited his vehicle and was placed into custody by CHP personnel.”

The CHP said they later determined that the driver never had a gun and that they arrested him on suspicion of driving under the influence of drugs.

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