By Khalida Sarwari
State Highway 85 in San Jose remains blocked in both directions this afternoon after two bank robbery suspects crashed while attempting to flee from police.
There is concern that the crashed car may contain explosives, and the roadway is expected to remain closed until about 5 p.m. while a bomb squad examines the vehicle, California Highway Patrol Officer D.J. Sarabia said.
“We’re waiting for San Jose police to … make sure it’s all safe so we can open (the highway),” Sarabia said.
The crash happened around 11:40 a.m. on northbound Highway 85 just south of the connector to northbound state Highway 87, according to police.
Sarabia said the crash involved a blue Honda and an SUV or minivan. The Honda is the car that police are investigating.
No injuries have been reported.
The car’s two occupants were wanted for a robbery at the Bank of America at 5615 Snell Ave. in San Jose, police said. Police received calls about the robbery at 11:36 a.m.
Officers arrested one suspect at the crash scene and a second on the baseball field of Gunderson High School, located at 622 Gaundabert Lane, where he had fled on foot, police said.
Gunderson, which backs up to Highway 85, was placed on lockdown for about an hour starting at 11:30 a.m.
“Police called and said two suspects were loose and had gone on our property,” said Karen Fuqua, a spokeswoman for the San Jose Unified School District.
She said the suspect was arrested on the baseball field, where he had hopped over a fence. He was not armed, Fuqua said.
The lockdown was lifted at about 12:30 p.m., Fuqua said.
“Everyone’s fine. The kids are out at lunch,” said a teacher at the school who requested not to be named.
This afternoon, helicopters were hovering above Highway 85 searching for weapons, Fuqua said. As of 3 p.m., the highway was still closed, and a San Jose police bomb squad was at the scene.
Traffic on Highway 85 is being diverted onto the Santa Teresa Boulevard exit.
