CHP investigates deadly pileup on I-580 near Livermore

LIVERMORE, Calif. (KGO) -- CHP investigators are still trying to determine the exact cause of a traffic collision in the East Bay that led to a deadly pileup that killed one person and injured six others, including one critically. At least 16 cars -- eight in each collision -- were involved in the accident on Interstate 580 that slowed traffic to a crawl in Alameda County near Livermore.

"It was pretty chaotic," said CHP Sgt. Joe Azevedo. "They were getting calls of 15 to 16 vehicles,"

Emergency crews rolled up to a scene of mangled metal, cars piled up one on top of another, broken glass, and fear spilled across the highway.

It all started when a few cars rear-ended each other in the eastbound lanes of I-580 just east of the North Flynn Road exit. No one was seriously hurt there. But then a backup started. And that's when the real trouble began.

"When my car hit, boom, I see the whole back screen broken off and then an oh wow, accident, and we just kinda panic and jump out," said witness Hanh Nguyen.

One by one the cars piled up again. This time the damage was worse.

"We have about seven vehicles in this collision," Azevedo said. "We have one fatality, one critical injury that was life-flighted, and then we have five other minor injuries."

The man in a beige truck died at the scene. Medics tried to revive him, but couldn't. He was identified on Sunday as Stockton resident Hayward Albright.

His passenger was airlifted to Eden Medical Center. The other victims were taken to hospitals in Stockton and Tracy. Emergency responders admit the heavy traffic held them up as well.

"It was very difficult to get here," said Alameda County Fire Dept. Battalion Chief Alan Evans. "Once we got here and we realized that we had multiple vehicles involved. It wasn't just three or four, it was eight. You know, we saw eight here, but we had eight more down below."

A Sig-alert was issued around 4:30 p.m. for the two left lanes. The lanes finally reopened just before 9 p.m.

Investigators blame speed and inattentive drivers for the chain reaction.

Bay City News contributed to this report.