In and i i am praying for them. Reporter he received the purple heart award in 2015 after lewintankel was hurt on the job while trying to protect others. We also learned that he recently started law school. He is a volunteer in the tenderloin. Clearly a well liked and respected officer in the department. Officers have been stopping by to offer support. We also understand that his family is asking for two things. They want privacy and they are also asking for prayers. They say he is a survivor. They want him to get through this. They have faith he can but they are asking for prayers. We are set to receive an update from the police chief in 1 minutes. Well be here to cover it and bring you any updates that we get. Are you getting a sense of the update, is it about the version the officers condition . Reporter we dont know. The chief is going to be coming out and giving us an update around 5 15. Other than that, well wait to see what comes out of that update. As you said, well carry that live. Cristina rendon at San Francisco general, thank you. The suspect who rammed his suv into officer lewintankel spoke to ktvus Tara Moriarty from jail. She joins us from the jail near the hall of justice. What did he say . Reporter well, the suspect who goes by the name Willie Flanagan said he did not hit this officer on his bicycle on purpose. He said it was an accident. He offered his condolences to the family. He sat down for this jailhouse interview to tell us what he says happened yesterday. Reporter Marquis Johnson is being charged with the attempted murder of officer elia lewintankel part of tenderloin stations bike patrol unit. He agreed to a jailhouse interview adamant that the collision was not done on purpose. It was not intentional . No. Reporter it was an accident. Yes. Reporter you didnt see him . I didnt see nothing. Trying to move out the way. Reporter johnson a homeless man who now goes by the name Willie Flanagan says he has ptsd, fallout he believes from racial profiling in an excessive use of force incident in 2014. He had no reason to assault me but here it is im being kicked in the face seven times with steeltoed boots and a obvious attempt to break my neck. Reporter since then he claims he has been accosted by sfpd. I been picked up 10 different times for nothing. Reporter sfpd says wednesday, officers near city hall observed johnson in a cream colored suv and tried to pull him over. Officers observed the suspect in a vehicle they believed was in possession of a firearm. It appears the suspect became aware of the officers presence and fled. Reporter he allegedly hit the officer as he was drying out of a parking garage. Video footage of the entrance and exits of the garage is available. So theres no way you gonna be able to twist the circumstances reverse the circumstances when police know he was coming against traffic on turk. He didnt see nothing when he ran into me. Reporter i asked johnson if he realized he hit the officer but he deflected the question. I dont even know how to describe what ptsd feels like. Reporter he deferred specific questions about hitting officer lewintankel to his attorney. Do you have anything to say to the family because he is in the hospital right now . My heart goes out to him and my condolences, apology. I dont know what else to say. Reporter sfpd sources tell us that johnson was traveling upwards of 30 Miles Per Hour when he came out of the garage, did not stop, hit officer lewintankel and continued on. Now, whether intentional or not, police say johnson will also face charges for felony evading with injuries, hitand run with injuries and a host of other charges. Live from San Francisco, im Tara Moriarty, back to you. Did he say why he abandoned the car and also why he did agree to the interview . Reporter he said he agreed to this incident in 2014 where he believes that San FranciscoPolice Officers used Excessive Force on him. He basically claims that incident changed his life, that he loves his job and fiancee, that he wasnt able to move forward that he sleeps at night, you know, next to a trash can next to the dispatch center because he is so worried that Police Officers are going to attack little. He did have some inconsistencies with his story, however, when we did speak to him. At times he would lead us to believe that the reason why he left that garage was because of the ptsd. And that officers were after him. But when i asked him the direct question, he would say, oh, you will have to ask my attorney or deflect it to somebody completely different. Did he give a specific reason again for why he abandoned the vehicle yesterday . Reporter he did not. He said he wanted us to refer a lot of the questions specifically about yesterday to his attorney. He only agreed to speak with us because of the 2014 incident but, of course, we had to ask some of these important questions about what happened yesterday. And he gave us little bits here and there. All right. Tara moriarty reporting in San Francisco. Thank you, tara. We are following some breaking news right now off ocean beach in San Francisco. Thats where a surf rescue is under way right now. San francisco fire tweeted surfers told them a fully clothed man was in distress in the water. Skyfox was over the scene about 10 minutes ago. We saw a fire response there on the beach near sloat and a fire ladder fully extended. A coast guard helicopter was flying over the water as rescuers searched for that man. Well continue to monitor the story and when we get any updates, well bring it to you. A new estimate on fire damage in the north bay shows that insured property losses will exceed 1 billion. Thats a conservative number on total damage. A state senator said fire damage will cost at least 3 billion. Loss include more than 7,000 homes that were damaged or destroyed. More than 500 commercial properties. More than 3,000 vehicles. Three of the biggest fires are still burning in napa and sonoma counties. But firefighters are getting closer to full containment. The cal fire website says the nuns fire on highway 12 north of glen ellen is 82 contained. The atlas fire off atlas peak road in napa county is 85 contained. The tubbs fire that burned into santa rosa in Sonoma County is now 92 contained. A Community Meeting wrapped up this afternoon in Sonoma County. People who live there got some new information about when they can go home. How the piles of debris will be cleaned up. And how they can get more help. Ktvus tom vacar was at the meeting. Reporter my iphone has a lot of sprinkles on it because its sprinkling here right now. Not seriously. But thats a good sign because that will help with the fires because it covers everything every place if its widespread enough. Now, im going to show you since our last hour, our road signs have gotten larger. People keep bringing signs here thanking the First Responders locally and who came from all over the world thanking them for the job in a they did to save this time. They did save this town. Now, having said that, the Community Meeting was important because there are still roads closed and still neighborhoods that are off limits so residents got a chance to get some information by asking questions and getting fairly good answers. We are going to get you the information you need. Reporter about 200 people showed up at the sonoma Memorial Building to get the latest, ask questions and collect forms to begin recoveries. With Sonoma County fires now 80 contained, officials expressed concern about when everyone can finally go home. We have a close call with a 16footwide tree that almost struck two firefighters yesterday. So these are the situations where we do not want to allow the public back into these dangerous areas. I know this has been a frustrating experience. I know that youre not getting the answers you need. Youre not getting back to your homes if you have been in an evacuation area. What i would ask, um, and i beg is that you just dig down deep to that last little bit of patience you have. Our officers are showing a tremendous amount of empathy for the people we serve. Im proud of the women and men that do that every day. We would love nothing more than to get our officers off post and back on patrol where thats however critical primary mission. Reporter residents found the meeting very useful and the help they got filling out forms invaluable. I believe its been helpful, sure. People want to know whats going on particularly if they are not in the thick of it. If they are, they dont know whats going on around them. Reporter the California Office of Emergency Services made a headline today when it announced it would clean up the thousands of lots where homes burned to the ground provided the homeowners provide written permission. Then Government Contractors can clean up quickly and completely since privately hired contractors will be few and far between. So once we have authorization from the residents, well be able to mobilize our state and federal forces to come in and begin that process of returning a safe clean site back to them for that critical rebuilding and recovery. Reporter so today the federal department of housing and urban development announced a number of programs to help people including a 90 day moratorium on foreclosures, the availability of certain kinds of mortgage insurance, and even some assistance for people in finding new places to live given the short average places there are around here. They also talked about some temporary housing that will be brought in but no final decisions have been made. Back here in sonoma square, people driving by saying thank you, folks, thank you for saving this time, truly a historical place and safe. Tom vacar, ktvu fox 2 news. Tom, thank you. An east bay man was run over by his own truck this morning during a carjacking. What neighbors are saying tonight about that incident. And two High School Students arrested for Sexual Assault. What three different schools are saying about the investigation and the connection to de la salle. Plus were very, very happy. Were going to be back home. Fire evacuees are back home in the santa cruz mountains. You saw tom vacar up in the north bay talking about some sprinkles. Thats where we are at. We have showers in the forecast. That helps out the fire situation. Also helps out the air quality. Well see you back here with that forecast. [ music ] a Alameda County deputy may be going to trial. She agreed to waive her preliminary hearing and could go straight to trial on gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicate and driving under the influence. They say she was under Prescription Medication when she crashed into a toyota that was parked on the shoulder of interstate 680 in san ramon. That car had run out of gas. The impact killed 3yearold elijah dunn and seriously injured his mother. She waived her right to a preliminary hearing in court this morning which means that she waived her right to have the evidence presented against her and a judge independently evaluating the evidence and holding her over. Unless malihan cuts a plea deal, she could face a trial in this case. The city of oakland has officially appointed a new fire chief. Mayor libby schaaf today announced interim chief white will take the reins in a personalities capacity. He is an oakland native, 20 years with oakland and 10 other years in fire service. Schaaf described white as a leader whose demeanor will move the department forward. He starts immediately. He will be sworn in tomorrow at 1 00. Good evening. Yesterdays horrific event involving our officer elia lewintankel is a reminder of the dangers that Law Enforcement officers face every day as we perform our duties to protect the public that we serve. Our Police Family has responded with spirit, strength and resolve to support each other and elia, his wife and family. Currently, elia is in intensive care. As he continues on his road to recovery, its important and uplifting to remember that elia is a fighter in every sense of the word. This fight isnt over. This is a statement from his wife. If elia was writing this he would like to say he is like every over cop working inch is. He goes to work every day to protect and serve his community. He does this with heart and passion. At the end of the day, like any other officer, he wants to come home to his family. Elia is a symbol of strength, its in his blood. This situation will be no different. This is not the end of elias story. Please, please, send him positive energy and love. He deserves it. And he will no doubt get through this. Elias family and the men and women of the San FranciscoPolice Department [ inaudible ] [ sirens ] [ pause ] we ask that you continue to support elia and his family with your thoughts and prayers toward his recovery. Thank you. Before we go on, id like to provide some details about the ongoing investigation. Our investigators yesterday afternoon took into custody 50 yearold maurice johnson. He has been charged for the following counts attempted murder, use of a Deadly Weapon in the commission of a felony, assault with a Deadly Weapon on a peace officer, inflicting Great Bodily Injury on another in commission of a felony, battery with serious bodily injury, resisting arrest, causing Great Bodily Injury, possession of a stolen automobile, felony possession of stolen property, felony evading causing serious bodily injury, reckless driving causing injury, felony evading a peace officer, unlicensed driver, and resisting or delaying a peace officer. These are the booking charges. At this time, we are not releasing a booking photo due to pending identification issues. Ill take a few questions. [ inaudible question ] whats his legal name . Whats the status . He has several aliases. This is a name that we believe to be his true name and what was the other question . Whats the status of him being out and all of these charges . These charges have been filed by the District Attorneys Office so he will be held unless he is bailed out. Can you give us his injuries injuries . Well, elia is in Critical Condition. He has some severe injuries. Ill just leave it at that. But again, his family is very positive. And he is doing better today than he was doing yesterday so that is a tremendous sign for us that we have hope. Were going to be by his side and help him fight through this. So his family is very positive and the word that they wanted me to get to the public is to Bring Positive Energy to this tragic horrific event. [ inaudible question ] this is tough on everybody. Officers have been here around the clock particularly the officers from tenderloin. I have standing behind me the command staff who have many of them have been here pretty much through the night with very little sleep. This is, you know, what we do and we understand this is part of the job. We accept that. But it also gives us an opportunity to really show what were made of and show us as the true heroes that i think many of our men and women that go out and put their lives on the line are. It brings us all together. And not just us, but the whole community. I mean, we have had a tremendous outpouring of support from the community from the city leaders the mayor on down to just citizens that just have given us their prayers and support. Its brought us together. You have been listening to a press conference outside San FranciscoGeneral Hospital from police chief William Scott updating us on the condition of the officer who remains in intensive care. Elia lewintankel was injured yesterday afternoon when he was hit and critically injured by a suspect driving an suv. Police chief scott told us today that he is a fighter and this fight is not over. His family wrote a letter saying that he is a symbol of strength and his story will not end here. And the officer asking for people to send positive energy and love. The chief also listed off about a half dozen or so charges against the suspect in this case who has been identified as maurice johnson. We had a jailhouse interview with that suspect today. Tara moriarty talked to that suspect who claimed this was an accident that he didnt intent to run over the officer and he also said that he been suffering from ptsd because of a previous arrest where he claims he had been roughed up by officers back in 2014. But in addition to the half dozen or so charges which are mostly felony evading and hit andrun, but theres also the attempted murder charge which is the most serious charge in the case. That gets into intent. So police and investigators believe he intentionally ran over that Police Officer. So johnson is now being held in jail pending the filing of all those charges when he shows up in court. Again, that fouryear veteran is in intensive care tonight at San FranciscoGeneral Hospital. When we have more updates on this, well bring it to you. Lets go to other news now. Firefighters say they have the upper hand on the bear fire thanks to favorable weather conditions. The fire has burned more than 320 acres in the steep terrain of the santa cruz mountains. Cal fire says now that fire is 30 contained. Some local residents got good news today. Fire officials lifted some evacuation orders al