Man fleeing deputies crashes into tree in Pleasanton

By Sophia Kazmi

Contra Costa Times

Posted: 08/12/2010 04:53:36 PM PDT

Updated: 08/12/2010 06:07:52 PM PDT

PLEASANTON -- A man fleeing Alameda County sheriff's deputies conducting a prostitution sting Wednesday crashed into a tree in Pleasanton after a short chase.

About 7:30 p.m., five people in an SUV pulled up at a Castro Valley hotel at which undercover deputies were conducting the sting, said Sgt. J.D. Nelson, spokesman for the Alameda County Sheriff's Office.

A woman got out of the car, as did the driver. When deputies went to talk to the driver, who was standing on the sidewalk, a passenger later identified as Maurice Buckley jumped into the driver's seat and took off with two other people still inside, authorities said.

Nelson said Buckley nearly ran over parole agents and sheriff's deputies as he fled. Deputies pursued the SUV on eastbound Interstate 580, but they called off the chase after they learned the identity of the driver.

About 7:50 p.m., Pleasanton police received a report of an injury crash at West Las Positas Boulevard and Hacienda Drive. Buckley had lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a tree there, Nelson said. He fled on foot but was found nearby. He was arrested on a no-bail felony warrant on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon causing great bodily injury, as well as on suspicion of assault, evading police and for violating his probation.

Buckley and the two others in the car were taken to Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley for treatment of various injuries. One of the passengers was a

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16-year-old runaway from the Sacramento area and a potential pimping victim, Nelson said. Her parents were notified.