A shooting on Interstate 880 in Oakland, California, on Friday night has left former California Golden Bears college basketball star Gene Ransom dead, according to reports.
A witness called 911 after seeing a car veering on the interstate and told dispatchers she believed the driver had a medical emergency, the Oakland Fire Department said.
California Highway Patrol officers soon arrived at the scene and determined that the driver, later identified as 65-year-old Ransom, had been struck by gunfire before crashing his car, KGO-TV of San Francisco reported.
Gene Ransom (California Athletics Hall of Fame)
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A suspect, 25-year-old Juan Angel Garcia of San Francisco, was later arrested in connection with the shooting, KGO reported Saturday morning. The motive for the shooting remained unknown.
Friends of Ransom told the Bay Area’s KNTV-TV that he had been the victim of the shooting, the station reported. The star’s former high school, Berkeley High, posted a tribute to him on Twitter.
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Ransom may be best known for playing more than 63 minutes in a single game and scoring 36 points in a five-overtime win against Oregon in 1977. He played basketball at Cal from 1975-1978, totaling over 1,100 points and averaging 14.8 points over 80 games. He started all three seasons at Cal before being chosen in the ninth round of the 1977 NBA Draft by the Golden State Warriors.
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Ransom never played in an NBA game and was inducted into the Cal Athletic Hall of Fame in 2001.
“We are shocked to hear the reports that Cal Athletics Hall of Famer Gene Ransom has been identified as a victim in a deadly freeway shooting,” the University of California at Berkeley said in a statement. “Our thoughts are with Gene’s family and friends for this tragic loss. Gene was one of the greatest players in our men’s basketball program’s history, and he will be greatly missed.”