OAKLAND — The family of an East Oakland bicyclist who was killed in a crash last week says that the driver of a vehicle involved in the crash is the brother of Nia Wilson — and they plan to stage a symbolic protest at Wilson’s funeral Friday over their frustration with a police investigation.

In a text message and subsequent interviews with this news organization, Jerome Bush described his despair over the death of his 34-year-old brother Deontae and questioned the police treatment of Ruben Wilson, whose 18-year-old sister Nia was slain in a high-profile stabbing on BART last month.

Bush said Thursday evening that an Oakland police investigator had finally contacted him about the case, and confirmed that Ruben Wilson was driving a vehicle involved in the crash. Oakland police have not returned repeated calls for comment from this news organization.

Jerome Bush said originally, a large group of relatives and supporters had planned to protest at Nia Wilson’s funeral Friday morning. After speaking with police Thursday, he said the family had scaled back its intentions, opting for a single protester — Deontae Bush’s mother, Glynis Brown.

“I plan on protesting with a sign at the funeral home,” Glynis Brown said in an interview Thursday evening. “My son is back there in a freezer somewhere. I’m going to demand some justice for my son.

“This just ain’t right. I’m so depressed, I can’t sleep at night, I can’t eat, I’m grief-stricken. This is senseless. Nobody tried to help my son … The police was very rude to me. They treated it as an accident, like it was his fault.”

The crash happened just before 9 p.m. July 27 at the intersection of 35th Avenue and Galindo Street, in what’s called a “high injury” corridor by traffic experts. Police said in a statement two days after the crash that Deontae Bush had been struck by a Chevrolet Express Limited van that was traveling northbound.

Deontae Bush died at the scene. Police said in their statement that a 40-year-old Oakland man, who was driving the van, had stayed at the scene and cooperated with investigators. They did not identify him at the time.

Jerome Bush said Wilson’s parents came to the accident scene that night and embraced Deontae Bush’s grieving mother, expressing grief and sorrow. In a brief phone conversation Wednesday, Nia Wilson’s uncle, Ansar El Muhammad, said he could not comment on the accident and did not know if any family members were involved.

In conversations with this news organization Tuesday and Wednesday, Jerome Bush decried what he called a lack of police transparency around the circumstances of the crash.

“It feels like police are running us around in circles trying not to help us,” Bush said. “We’reoperating under assumptions told to us by multiple sources in the street.”

After speaking with investigators Thursday, Jerome Bush added: “The man, he was never taken to a police station, no blood test. I don’t know if he was given a breathalyzer. … This man is free. I thought if you kill someone, you’re not cleared.”

Bush also said that witnesses to the crash had approached him to say they had not been interviewed by police and added that workers at two nearby businesses with surveillance cameras facing the street said no one had contacted them about footage of the crash. He said he had also been told by one witness that Deontae may have been struck by at least two vehicles. Investigators have not formally provided the driver’s or drivers’ names, Jerome Bush added, preventing Deontae Bush’s family from filing an insurance claim.

“I’m saddened that my brother died, but I’m trying to remain focused and get answers for my family,” Jerome Bush added. “I feel bad for (the Wilson) family, but if (the driver’s) negligence contributed to my brother’s death, he needs to be held accountable for it.

“Justice for my brother won’t diminish justice for (Nia Wilson). People that do wrong stuff need to be held accountable. So send it or say something, so we can have closure.”

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New downtown San Jose transit village comes into view Jerome Bush said the family had decided that Deontae’s casket should be closed due to the severity of his injuries. An online fundraising site set up for the family had raised more than $3,000 of a $12,000 goal as of Thursday evening.

Contact George Kelly at 408-859-5180.