In a blatant theft caught in the camera, a person jumped out of a car in the South of Market neighborhood of San Francisco on Friday and broke the rear window of a Prius, stealing a bag with what the police said was full of a drone and camera equipment.
San Francisco police said the incident, widely shared in a video posted on Twitter, appeared to coincide with a report at 4:30 pm on Friday that is under investigation.
The suspect drove in the back seat of a Honda car that approached the Prius while waiting to enter the ramp on Interstate 80 towards Oakland, according to a third driver’s camera. The suspect opened the Honda’s door and started to leave when the Prius stopped, but closed it quickly while the Prius continued on.
When the Prius stopped again, a person wearing a sweatshirt jumped out of the Honda and broke the Prius’ rear window and removed the bag, running back to the fleeing car.
In the final seconds of the video posted on Twitter, the driver of the Prius and a passenger can be seen opening their doors and running towards the trunk of the vehicle, but the suspect’s vehicle has already started to accelerate.
Additional information about this incident was not immediately available.
The theft came just a week after the famous private investigator Jack Palladino was seriously injured after two men in a car tried to steal his expensive camera. Palladino was dragged, hit his head and then died.
Palladino’s camera was recovered and contained images that helped lead to the arrest of two suspects.
This story is developing.
Roland Li and Lauren Hernandez are editors of the San Francisco Chronicle. E-mail: [email protected] [email protected] Twitter: @rolandlisf @ByLHernandez