Bay Area Police Chief Claims Unusual Justification for Fleeing Hit-and-Run Accident

A police chief from the Bay Area faces criticism following allegations of a highway hit-and-run incident involving a family’s car. She later justified her actions, stating that chest pains compelled her to drive on the shoulder at high speed.

Angela Averiett, the Police Chief of San Leandro, was reportedly driving her department-issued Jeep on Interstate 580 near Dublin when she allegedly swerved from the shoulder into the lane of a family returning from a San Francisco Giants game, according to ABC 7.

The family car’s driver, Daffani Ryan, was left in shock with her husband and two children in the vehicle. She promptly contacted 911 for assistance.

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“A police officer just hit me,” Ryan informed the dispatchers, likening the crash sound to a shotgun blast.

Ryan told ABC 7 the silver Jeep’s lights were flashing right before “it smoked my mirror,” clipped her driver’s side and sped off without stopping.

Her husband was able to take down the vehicle’s the license plate number, which the California Highway Patrol traced back to Averiett’s SUV.

In her account to investigators, Averiett claimed she didn’t realize a collision had occurred and didn’t hear any impact, even though both vehicles had matching damage.

The CHP, citing the chief’s claims that she wasn’t aware she struck anyone, declined to pursue hit-and-run charges.

The case took another eyebrow‑raising turn when Ryan said a San Leandro Police lieutenant later called her to offer to pay for her car’s damages if she didn’t report the incident.

Antwinette Turner, now a deputy chief with Bay Area Rapid Transit, was the officer who reportedly attempted to negotiate for her chief.

The incident is part of a wider internal complaint filed last month by San Leandro Police Department Sgt. Mike Olivera.

The nine‑page document accuses Averiett of a “troubling pattern of lack of accountability, selective enforcement and concealment of violations.”

The San Leandro Police Officers’ Association attorney, Mike Rains, also expressed his belief to ABC 7 that Averiett was given preferential treatment.

Union leaders say the situation has crushed morale among rank‑and‑file officers, who believe the chief received special treatment not afforded to regular cops, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

Averiett, a veteran of Bay Area law enforcement since 2001 who was previously with the Hayward Police Department and BART Police, refused to answer questions when confronted by ABC 7 in the San Leandro Police Department parking lot.