May 05--A Daly City police cruiser went up in flames Sunday evening, setting off ammunition in the car, as an officer was taking a handcuffed suspect into custody, authorities said.
Firefighters swarmed to the scene around 6:15 p.m. on an off-ramp from southbound Highway 101 near Whipple Avenue in Redwood City, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The officer and suspect escaped uninjured as the vehicle burned and ammunition ricocheted, authorities said. Police closed Whipple Avenue for nearly an hour.
Francisco Velasco, 30, was sitting in an IHOP near the off-ramp when he noticed the flames.
"A cop car was in the middle of the road, and it was completely engulfed in fire," he said. "I heard some popping."
The cause of the fire was not immediately known.
Evan Sernoffsky is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: [email protected] Twitter: @evansernoffsky
Copyright 2014 - San Francisco Chronicle
