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A Danville man who is now charged with allegedly assaulting his father and spurring a police search of the neighborhood last weekend has been confirmed as the same local resident who was investigated as the driver who fatally struck NFL coach Greg Knapp as he rode his bicycle in San Ramon more than two years ago.
The Danville Police Department announced on Facebook on Monday evening that they had been successful in the search and apprehension of Kevin Xu, 24, who allegedly fled the scene on Glasgow Circle on Saturday following the reported assault.
DanvilleSanRamon was able to confirm Tuesday that Xu was the driver at the center of the Knapp investigation in 2021 – his name had never been released publicly by authorities because that case did not yield criminal charges. Xu is among the defendants in a wrongful-death lawsuit filed by Knapp’s family in the wake of the fateful crash.
Attempts to contact Xu’s legal representation in either case were unsuccessful as of Tuesday afternoon.
The Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office filed five charges against Xu on Tuesday in the wake of last week’s arrest, consisting of assault with a deadly weapon and assault by means likely to produce great bodily injury – both felonies – plus misdemeanor charges for resisting, obstructing or delaying a police officer, aggravated trespassing, and simple battery.
Each of the two felony counts could result in up to three years in prison, with the three misdemeanors potentially resulting in 2-1/2 years of prison time – meaning Xu could face a maximum sentence of eight years and six months in state prison if convicted on all charges.
Danville police said they responded to the incident in the 200 block of Glasgow Circle at 2:18 p.m. Saturday, in which they believe Xu used a deadly weapon to assault his father. A DPD spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment on the type of weapon used or the victim’s condition as of Tuesday afternoon.
DPD issued a warrant for Xu’s arrest after their response Saturday and searched the area, ultimately locating him at 6:38 a.m. Sunday morning. Xu was booked into the Martinez Detention Facility following his arrest, with bail set at $30,000.
It’s not the first time the DA’s office has reviewed recommendations for criminal charges against Xu, DanvilleSanRamon has learned.
Following Knapp’s death in the summer of 2021, the office declined to pursue a vehicular manslaughter charge against Xu, following the San Ramon Police Department’s investigation into the driver who struck Knapp while he was bicycling on Dougherty Road in San Ramon.
Knapp, 58, was critically injured and never regained consciousness following the collision within the designated bike lane on July 17, 2021, ultimately succumbing to his injuries at the hospital on July 22, 2021.
That fall, the DA’s office confirmed that they would not be pursuing charges against the driver in the fatal collision, attributing the cause to distracted driving rather than criminal action or intent.
Central to the decision was the assertion that the driver was found to be looking at his cellphone as the crash occurred, but the device was in a hands-free position and not in his hand as expressly prohibited by law.
Knapp was a longtime NFL assistant coach who had just been hired by the New York Jets as a passing game specialist. His career started as part of the coaching staff for the San Francisco 49ers in 1995, later serving as their offensive coordinator from 2001 to 2003. He held the same position at other teams throughout his career, including two stints with the then-Oakland Raiders as well as the Atlanta Falcons and Seattle Seahawks.
He was spending the offseason at his home in Danville with his wife Charlotte and three daughters prior to his death that summer.
With no criminal charges filed in the Knapp case, the driver’s identity was not released publicly by authorities – other than police saying at the time it was a 22-year-old man from Danville. However, a spokesperson for the DA’s office confirmed to DanvilleSanRamon on Tuesday that Xu was previously the subject of a vehicular manslaughter charge recommendation to the office that they had declined to pursue.
It has also been learned that Xu is a defendant in a civil complaint filed in Contra Costa County Superior Court on Jan. 24, 2023 by Knapp’s widow and children, which consists of a wrongful death claim against Xu, the city of San Ramon, Faria Preserve LLC, Calatlantic Group Inc., Lennar Corp. and numerous unnamed “Doe” defendants.
The complaint names Xu as the driver who struck Knapp in the crash that ultimately led to his death, but it also alleges that conditions on the bike lane Knapp was in on northbound Dougherty Valley Road near North Monarch Road – which was narrowed in order to accommodate construction in the area – and negligence on the part of the city and developers including a lack of safety measures for bicyclists were largely to blame for the collision and Knapp’s death.
“Defendants City of San Ramon, Faria Preserve LLC, Calatlantic Group Inc., Lennar Corporation, and Does 51 through 100, inclusive, otherwise failed to warn motorists and bicyclists of the unsafe configuration of the subject roadway, including, but not limited to, the deficiently sized bike lane and traffic lanes, thereby creating a dangerous condition and foreseeable risk of injury to normal users of the roadway,” attorneys for the Knapp family wrote in an amended complaint filed on July 11.
“Said conditions were allowed to exist unremedied,” they added. “This was inherently dangerous and created a trap, peculiar risk, and nuisance.”
The civil case is currently active in county court, with a case management conference scheduled for March 6. Attorneys for the Knapp family did not respond to a request for comment as of Tuesday afternoon.
