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Boy nearly hangs himself 

EAST PALO ALTO — An 8-year-old boy was recovering this weekend after he nearly hanged himself on a school jungle gym with a jump rope a day earlier. 

Police say the third-grader almost strangled himself Friday after tying a jump rope to the top of a playground climbing structure and then wrapping the other end around his neck before jumping. 

Three young classmates held his body up to keep the rope from tightening, police said. 

The boy lost consciousness and suffered a mild seizure after playground monitors loosened the rope and brought him down. He was resuscitated by a school aide who performed CPR, police said. 

San Mateo County Sheriff’s Sgt. Rick Yearman said the boy didn’t intend to harm himself and the incident is being treated as an accident. 

The boy was taken to Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford where he was listed in good condition. 

Murder suspect grabbed in bridge chase  

SAN RAFAEL— A homicide suspect led authorities on a chase that reached 100 mph and crossed the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge before the man was run off the road and arrested Saturday afternoon. 

Acting on a tip, Contra Costa sheriff’s deputies spotted John Krause in El Sobrante around 4:15 p.m. — and the pursuit began. Krause was wanted for allegedly shooting a Vallejo man last May. 

Krause eventually wound his way through Richmond and onto the bridge, sheriff’s Lt. Larry Gregg said. On the other side, San Rafael police picked up the chase, which ended around 4:50 p.m. when cruisers pushed him off the road and boxed in his gray Honda. 

No one was injured, San Rafael Sgt. Erik Masterson said, though several patrol cars were damaged. 

Contra Costa deputies arrested Krause and will transfer him to Vallejo, Gregg said. 

New toll rate on Golden Gate  

SAN FRANCISCO — Golden Gate Bridge officials say they need to increase tolls to $5 — though $8 would be even better. 

Bridge District officials are considering proposals that would raise the toll from its current $3 per car to $5 to help reduce the $452 million budget deficit they expect in five years. 

Angry commuters who attended a special meeting Thursday suggested the district only needed the money to pad the wallets of bridge managers. 

Bridge officials explained the bridge is in poor shape financially, and that even a $5 toll won’t balance the budget — they said an $8 toll is what the bridge really needs. 

Spilled fish slow traffic  

SAN FRANCISCO — A messy spill of fish parts backed up traffic for hours on the Bay Bridge as commuters tried to escape the city Friday afternoon. 

The spill happened on the lower deck just west of Yerba Buena Island around 1:30 p.m., according to the California Highway Patrol. The driver continued on for several miles before stopping — officer Erika Winfield said he might not have realized what happened.