James Missouri happened upon his cousin Thursday morning outside an Oakland liquor store and instantly thought something was wrong. There was no key in the ignition of the gold Toyota Camry his cousin, Chinook Bacon, was driving.
Missouri thought the car was stolen, and though the 17-year-old Chinook denied it, Missouri still had grave doubts as he drove away, he said.
"I knew it was fittin' to be a disaster," he said. "And sure enough, this is the aftermath."
Missouri pointed sadly to the mess of twisted metal and smashed glass on 62nd Avenue near Foothill Boulevard, where the gold Camry lay on its side near the wreckage of two other cars - the remnants of a late-morning pileup that killed one woman and sent six people to area hospitals.
It was one of two horrific crashes Thursday in Oakland, the other coming just a few hours later when an allegedly drunken driver slammed head-on into another car, injuring six.
The second crash happened at 2:30 p.m. on Foothill Boulevard near 24th Avenue. The driver of a white Jeep carrying three young men hit a blue Acura with a family of three in it, and after the spinning and colliding was over, all six people were headed to hospitals with injuries, authorities said. One of them, a woman in the family car, was listed in grave condition.
Oakland police spokesman Jeff Thomason said the 19-year-old driver of the Jeep may have been drinking, and that the vehicle was swerving recklessly before the smashup.
"Witnesses described it as sideshow-type activity, and we found a liquor bottle in the Jeep," Thomason said.
The day started out ominously with Missouri's encounter with his cousin.
Police say that not long after the cousins met at the liquor store, the Camry - with Chinook inside it, relatives said - slammed head-on into a white Saturn sedan as it sped along 62nd with a patrol car in pursuit.
"He's been in trouble before ... but this by far is the worst I've ever seen out of him," said Missouri, 23.
Police say four male teenagers were in the Camry when it crashed. Chinook's relatives said one's neck was broken, and that Chinook was treated at a hospital and is expected to recover.
The Saturn, driven by a 68-year-old man, had two female passengers, aged 66 and 45, authorities said. The 66-year-old woman died.
All four males in the Camry - ages 19, 18, 17 and 14 - are in custody while authorities determine the appropriate charges, said Oakland police spokesman Jeff Thomason.
Police have not released the names of anybody involved.
