Driver wounded in gunfire on I-80 in San Pablo

CHP patrol car in San Francisco, Calif. on Wednesday, June 26, 2014. CHP patrol car in San Francisco, Calif. on Wednesday, June 26, 2014. Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle Buy photo Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Driver wounded in gunfire on I-80 in San Pablo 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

Interstate 80 in San Pablo was closed briefly during Thursday’s evening rush hour after the occupants of one car pulled up to another vehicle and began shooting at people inside.

At least one man received minor gunshot wounds as a result of the encounter, which occurred shortly after 3 p.m.— and which was not a random incident, according to a statement released Thursday night by the California Highway Patrol.

The CHP responded to calls about a shooting near San Pablo Dam Road and found a black Ford SUV on the embankment with signs of gunshot damage as well as a collision. The driver of the car was found at a nearby Denny’s, where he was treated for wounds in the arm and transported to a nearby hospital. Another occupant of the Ford apparently fled the scene, and it’s not known if that person was injured.

The shots apparently had been fired from a sedan, an attack that caused the SUV to swerve into another vehicle. That driver was not injured, and was able to drive away from the scene.

The investigation closed the freeway at San Pablo Road in both directions for about half an hour. All lanes and ramps reopened by 6 p.m.

Without going into details, Officer Daniel Hill of the CHP said the initial evidence suggested that neither Thursday’s incident, nor a similar exchange on Nov. 2 in the same general area, was a chance encounter. In the words of the statement released earlier in the evening, “it is clear that the victims are being specifically targeted.”

Anybody who might have witnessed the incident is asked to contact CHP investigators at (510) 622-4609 or via the tip line (800) 835-5247.