Man allegedly steals tow truck as revenge for towed vehicle, chase ensues

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Fremont police arrested a man who allegedly stole a tow truck as revenge for having his own vehicle towed, but not until after he led authorities on a low-speed chase that ended with roadway spikes disabling the truck.

The drama began around 8:35 a.m. Friday, when police received a report from a Berkeley tow-truck company owner saying that one of his trucks had been stolen from a secure yard. A GPS tracker showed the truck in Fremont, police said, and officers were able to track the vehicle and attempt a stop near the intersection of Northport Loop and Cushing Parkway.

Initially the driver obeyed officer commands, police said, but then he decided to flee at speeds between 30 and 40 mph — close to this particular tow truck’s reported peak speed. CHP took over the pursuit when the vehicle headed onto the freeway from Durham Road, police said, and continued over about 15 miles.

Highway patrolmen stopped traffic behind the chase, and a spike-strip was laid across the lanes to stop the tow truck, police said.

Sean O’Neal, a 55-year-old Albany resident, was arrested shortly thereafter and booked into Santa Rita Jail. He told CHP officers that he was trying to avenge his own car’s towing by a particular Berkeley tow company.

“Apparently he went to go get his car which they had towed, and it was being impounded so they wouldn’t give it back,” CHP Officer Tyler Hahn said. “So he went back in the middle of the night and hopped the fence. He tried to break into his own car but couldn’t start it, and he found the keys to a tow truck and just stole it.”

Sophie Haigney is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: sophie.haigney@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SophieHaigney