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NEWS FROMM ACROSS THE BAY AREA
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• TRUCK GOES INTO FUNERAL HOME IN SAN FRANCISCO: SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Authorities say a major San Francisco thoroughfare was shut down after a big rig crashed into a funeral home and caught fire.

The truck remained at the scene on Market Street in the city’s Castro District early Thursday morning. Crews were waiting for a hazardous materials team to drain fuel in the truck’s tank before removing it.

The crash occurred earlier in the morning. San Francisco Fire Battalion Chief Kevin Taylor says the driver of the truck went across the median and then back onto the other side of Market Street and into the building.

It’s not clear what caused the driver to lose control of th truck, but Taylor says there were reports that the driver heard an explosion before the crash.

The driver of the truck and a passenger inside were not seriously hurt. Eastbound lanes of Market Street had reopened by 6:30 a.m.

 

• POLICE OFFICER ACCUSED OF POSSESSING CHILD PORN: MOUNTAIN VIEW (AP) — A San Francisco Bay Area policeman has been accused of possessing child pornography.

Kevin Nguyen, a seven-year veteran of the Mountain View police department, was arrested this week by San Jose police after they served a search warrant on his home in the city. San Jose police say they found child pornography on a computer belonging to the 36-year-old Nguyen.

Nguyen was arrested at the Mountain View police department. He has been placed on paid administrative leave.

KNTV reports that he was out of custody by Wednesday afternoon. A listing for Nguyen in San Jose could not immediately be found early Thursday morning.

Mountain View police say Nguyen served as a sketch artist and was sought by other agencies to draw sketches of suspects.

 

• SAN FRANCISCO TECH CEO CHARGED WITH HIT-AND-RUN: BRISBANE (AP) — A San Francisco technology CEO is facing felony hit-and-run charges after authorities say he left the scene of a freeway crash.

San Mateo County prosecutors filed the charge against Nextdoor CEO Nirav Tolia on Wednesday.

According to a civil lawsuit by the crash victim, Patrice Motley, the 42-year-old Tolia was driving alongside her on Highway 101 in Brisbane on Aug. 4 when he began moving his SUV into her lane to overtake a slower vehicle.

Motley says she lost control of her car and hit the concrete median, suffering fractures and back injuries. District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe tells the San Jose Mercury News Tolia kept driving.

Tolia said in a statement he will cooperate fully with authorities. Nextdoor is a social networking site that aims to help neighbors connect.

 

• WOMAN CHARGED WITH HATE CRIME IN WAL-MART ATTACK: SAN JOSE (AP) — Prosecutors say a woman attacked a 4-year-old girl and her father with a crowbar at a San Jose Wal-Mart because they were of Asian origin.

Maria Garate, a 20-year-old transient, was charged on Thursday with attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon, both with hate crime allegations. She appeared briefly in a Santa Clara County courtroom with a public defender, but did not enter a plea.

She is being held without bail.

The attack occurred on Tuesday. Police say Garate struck the girl on the head with a crowbar and attacked her father when he intervened to try to stop her from hitting the girl again.

The girl was treated for her injuries, which were not considered major.