A Bay Area police chief is facing hit-and-run charges aftershe allegedly sideswiped a family’s vehicleon the highway before driving off, later insisting she was dealing with a possible medical emergency.
The Alameda County District Attorney announced charges this week against San Leandro Police Chief Angela Averiett, who was placed on administrative leave Wednesday after speaking publicly about the incident and defending her actions.
“I am aware that a misdemeanor charge has been filed related to a traffic incident that occurred in May of 2025,”she said during a press conference. “I was driving an unmarked police vehicle on Interstate 580 when contact was allegedly made with another vehicle. The CHP responded, investigated, and did not find cause to issue a citation.”
Averiett also claimed she did not knowingly leave the crash scene on Interstate 580 in Dublin because the reported damage was so “minimal.”
According to her account, she had been returning home from a city council meeting when she believed she was experiencing a “medical emergency.”
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She said she activated police lights on her department-issued Jeep and exited the highway after feeling chest pains.
Authorities said Averiett clipped a vehicle while driving in the center median area.
California Highway Patrol officers later investigated the collision. Averiett reportedly told officers she had chest pains that later subsided.
CHP investigators ultimately declined to pursue hit-and-run charges at the time, citing Averiett’s claim that she was unaware any collision had occurred despite damage found on both vehicles.
Source: California Post – Breaking California News, Photos & Videos
