UPDATE: Stolen BMW In Early Morning Highway 4 Head-On Crash, Occupants Flee

(Update 9:45 a.m.)

Police identified Ricky Barnette, 33, of Concord, as the driver of the BMW. Neither he nor the vehicle’s passengers suffered injuries in the crash.

Police said a later search of the BMW yielded a stolen, loaded handgun and methamphetamine.

Barnette was arrested and booked into the Martinez Detention Facility, police said.

The passengers with him were apparently released.

-Bay City News

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(Original story)

ANTIOCH - Antioch Police report that about 12:45 a.m. Friday morning a driver of a stolen BMW sedan evaded officers on Hillcrest Avenue by traveling the wrong direction on eastbound Highway 4.

A posting this morning on the CHP’s Contra Costa County Facebook site says Antioch Police immediately terminated their pursuit of the car due to public safety concerns.

Police stopped at the Hillcrest Avenue over crossing, where officers observed the BMW collide head on with a Dodge sedan. Police immediately responded to the scene and called for medical and CHP assistance.

As officers arrived on scene, police say all of the occupants of the BMW fled on foot. The driver of the Dodge sustained major injuries including compound fracture to the left femur and was transported to a local hospital by ambulance.

The occupants of the BMW were later detained by Antioch Police on Cavallo Road, under Highway 4.

The Antioch Police Department will be conducting the criminal investigation in this incident and CHP - Contra Costa will be conducting the traffic collision investigation.