Update, 11:32 am: All three of the occupants of the Cadillac are currently Berkeley residents, according to new information released by BPD.
The male driver and the child remain in the hospital.
Very preliminary evidence suggests the Cadillac was travelling northbound on California Street when it struck the roundabout in the intersection of Allston Way, then collided with the tree on the eastside of California Street, just north of Allston Way. BDP writes: “These turnabouts, roundabouts, traffic circles are intended to be traffic calming features. There have been collisions periodically at these features around the City of Berkeley and yet, the number is not remarkable enough to suggest that they are the significant issue in this collision. Impairment of the driver is always a part of these types of investigations.” See City Report on fatal accidents in Berkeley since 1984.
Update, 8:55 am: A young woman in her 20s died in the crash. She was a passenger in the car that was being driven by a man, also believed to be in his 20s, and there was a child in the back seat, according to media reports. The car, a Cadillac with a Compton registration is believed to have been traveling at high speed before its careered into a tree on California. The car was severely mangled and it proved hard to extricate the people inside, according to BPD spokesperson Sgt Mary Kusmiss. “It was a challenge for both patrol officers and the fire department to get the individuals out of the car. The officers and fire department did some heroic work to get them out,” she told KTVU who published a photograph of the wreck.
Original story: On Friday May 18, at about 1:13 a.m, a car with one driver and two passengers struck a tree at California Street and Allston Way. One of the occupants of the car was pronounced dead at the scene, while two other occupants were transported to local hospital trauma units with serious injuries.
City of Berkeley Police Department patrol officers responded to a collision on California Street and Allston Way and found the car on California Street just north of Allston Way. City of Berkeley Fire Department personnel responded as well.
The BPD FAIT (Fatal Accident Collision Team) was on scene has started its investigation.
BPD is not releasing the names or ages of the occupants of the car out of respect for their families.
This is the second fatal collision of 2012. On January 30, 2012, a car struck a young man on a skateboard at Marin and Tulare in North Berkeley. The skateboarder dies as a result of his injuries.
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