A man who caused two vehicular collisions in San Bruno on April 8, one which significantly injured an 81-year-old woman, and was additionally connected to burglaries in Redwood City and Belmont, was set to appear in court for a preliminary hearing Thursday, according to prosecutors.
Brian Russell Thompson, 45, described as a transient from the Redwood City area, is in custody on charges that he caused the collisions while fleeing police in a stolen Ford F-150.
At about 12:15 p.m. that day, San Bruno police saw Thompson driving the Ford truck with a passenger that turned into the Tanforan Target parking lot. Police tried to pull him over, but Thompson drove off at high speed, prosecutors said. As he pulled out of the parking lot, he T-boned a Toyota Camry, causing significant damage, and then continued on at 60 mph in a 25 mph zone and collided with a Chevy Malibu, causing an 81-year-old occupant of the Malibu to suffer broken bones in her pelvis, arm, ankle and ribs, prosecutors said.
Thompson would go on to crash the stolen Ford F-150 head on into another Toyota Camry, disabling both the Camry and the truck. He jumped out and ran off, leaving “his passenger pinned in the passenger side of the truck,” prosecutors said. Police caught Thompson, however, and found him in possession of stolen credit cards and identification from a burglary earlier that same day on East Claremont Avenue in Redwood City.
Thompson was identified as the burglar with help from video surveillance at the Redwood City home. The investigation revealed Thompson and the passenger in the stolen Ford F-150 had been smoking Fentanyl, prosecutors said.
The investigation also revealed Thompson’s connection to a car burglary at a Belmont Apartment Complex on March 28 during which three Native American porcelain figurine dolls worth $6,400, along with a backpack with driver’s licenses and credit cards, were stolen. A few hours after the burglary, Thompson was arrested after Belmont police found him in a disabled vehicle . The stolen property was recovered, along with a Kors purse worth $540, prosecutors said. “Belmont police cited the defendant for theft and he was released,” prosecutor added.
Thompson remains in custody on $100,000 bail.
Photo from the crash scene on April 8 credited to the San Bruno Police Department
