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Car plows into Hearst house

By William Inman Daily Planet Staff
Friday August 25, 2000

A speeding car crashed into a duplex on the 1400 block of Hearst Avenue at about 1 a.m. Thursday morning, injuring a lone passenger and bursting into flame, said Assistant Fire Chief Mike Migliore.  

The driver jumped out of the vehicle and fled after the crash, leaving his wounded companion behind, Migliore said. 

The woman who lives in the apartment was in bed in another part of the house and was not injured. 

Migliore said three fire trucks responded to the fire that broke out under the hood and spread to the house.  

The damage to the apartment caused by the crash and the fire totaled about $11,000, he said. 

Paul Nasman. who lives across Sacramento Street, said he heard a few seconds of screeching before the crash. 

Nasman said that the driver managed to squeeze between a parked pick-up truck and a tree to enter the building. 

Berkeley police were not available to comment on the condition of the passenger or whether the driver had been found.