The man shot to death on the Bay Bridge early Monday morning has been identified as a rapper from Texas.

The San Francisco medical examiner’s office said the shooting victim was Darryl Stinnette, 31, of Mesquite, Tex. ReverbNation, a music website, said Stinnette was a rapper known as Li’l Pooh, who specialized in hip hop and gangsta rap.

California Highway Patrol officials said the shooting occurred on the Bay Bridge’s eastbound lanes at about 2:15 a.m. A witness, Raul Lopez, was nearly caught in the line of fire. He was driving in the center lane on the lower deck of the bridge when he heard five “pops” that “sounded like fireworks” coming from the left side of his Honda Civic.

Before he could look over to see the source of the commotion, a black sport utility vehicle on his right careened into his car, sending both vehicles spinning out of control.

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A third vehicle, which apparently carried the shooter, fled.

Investigators said they were looking into whether the shooter was in a silver or gray SUV or sedan but provided no other information.

When the vehicles came to a stop, Lopez said, Stinnette was slumped over dead — bloody from gunshot wounds. Another man in the back seat was bleeding heavily from a gunshot wound on his upper left arm and the front seat passenger was walking around in shock.

Paramedics and the California Highway Patrol rushed to the scene, closing all eastbound lanes of the bridge for more than four hours as morning commuters became marooned on the lower deck.

Two of the three passengers in the SUV were taken to a hospital, where they were expected to recover from their injuries, said Officer Kris Borer, a CHP spokesman. At least one man had a gunshot wound, but authorities would not elaborate on the injuries.

Authorities have not revealed a possible motive for the attack.

According to ReverbNation, Stinnette was given the name Li’l Pooh by his mother as a child. He started recording on a boom box in the 1990s.

Three lanes of the lower deck of the Bay Bridge reopened around 6:30 a.m. Monday.

Michael Cabanatuan and Evan Sernoffsky are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: mcabanatuan@sfchronicle.com; esernoffsky@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @ctuan; @EvanSernoffsky