Officers responded to the area of Park Street and Lincoln Avenue just after 8 a.m. after getting a call reporting a rollover crash. They found two vehicles, a minivan and a full-size truck, according to police.
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"It was just like, boom, boom, bah," witness Sergio Silva said. Silva heard the accident from his martial arts studio just a few yards from where the truck landed. "It was just a terrifying scene for our little island here."
VIDEO: Surveillance camera captures deadly crash
Sruveillance video shows horrific deadly Alameda crash
Alameda police say the full-size pickup was carrying seven people, one of them died on the scene, and another at the hospital. The other five are in critical condition.
The truck first clipped this mini-van. The woman inside was not seriously hurt.
"It looked like one of those movies, in real life," one witness who didn't want to be identified said.
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Jessie hill was working at the waffle shop just beyond the crash site. She and her customers were shaken by what they heard and saw. "It's very sad on Memorial Day, for this to happen on Memorial Day," she said.
The Alameda Police Department's Major Accident Investigation Team is investigating the incident. Based on witness accounts, speed appeared to be a factor in the crash, police said, though the investigation is in the preliminary stages and the primary factor hasn't been determined.
Park Street is still closed to vehicles between Pacific and Santa Clara avenues, police said.
Bay City News contributed to this report.