OFF THE WIRE
Henry K. Lee, Chronicle Staff Writer
Eddie Hall admitted intentionally hitting the biker, police say.Hall reportedly left his paratransit van on the side of Interstate 580 in San Leandro after he allegedly ran over George Lopez Jr. on Saturday.
SAN LEANDRO -- The driver of a paratransit van was charged with murder after police said he admitted to intentionally swerving into Hells Angels motorcycle club members on Interstate 580 in San Leandro, killing one of them.
Alameda County prosecutors said they had charged Eddie Hall, 31, of Oakland with murder and felony hit-and-run in the Saturday crash that killed George Lopez Jr., 51, of Stockton.
Hall is accused of striking Lopez with his East Bay Paratransit van as they traveled east near Grand Avenue at about 4 p.m.
"Hall claimed he was upset at the time because of the driving behavior of others and the behavior of the motorcyclists," San Leandro police Detective Anthony Morgan wrote in court documents outlining the grounds for Hall's arrest. "Hall admitted to knowing the motorcycles were in the lane he intentionally swerved into and to knowing his actions would cause his bus to strike the motorcycle."
A witness told police that it appeared Hall, who was not carrying any passengers, "aggressively pulled the steering wheel to the left and collided with the motorcyclist," Morgan wrote.
Lopez was knocked from his bike and fell into the path of the van, which ran him over. Hall allegedly continued driving, with the motorcycle wedged under the van, for more than a mile. The motorcycle burst into flames before Hall pulled to the side of the freeway and ran away, authorities said. He was arrested by a sheriff's deputy.
Hall was also charged with attempted murder for allegedly trying to kill a second motorcyclist, Ozzie Jesus Jose, and a sentencing enhancement for using a van as a deadly weapon. He is being held without bail at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin.
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