Storm kills 5 in San Francisco Bay Area

(KRON) — Five people have been reported killed in separate incidents during the latest atmospheric river to hit the Bay Area.

Two people were killed in two separate storm-related incidents in San Francisco, according to city officials.

Around 3:40 p.m. Tuesday, officers with the San Francisco Police Department responded to a report of a downed tree on the 1000 block of Post Street. Officials said two people were transported to the hospital, one with life-threatening injuries and one with non-life-threatening injuries.

Minutes later around 4 p.m., officers responded to a separate report of a person hit by a fallen tree branch on 23rd Avenue. The person was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.

San Francisco officials said they received more than 700 reports of fallen trees and limbs from the storm.

San Francisco Mayor London Breed urged residents to check on their friends and families and stay safe in response to the two lives lost.

“We tragically lost two lives due to yesterday’s dangerous storm that hit San Francisco. These repeated storms have been very challenging and caused severe conditions that our city crews are working to assess,” Mayor Breed said in a tweet. “Thank you to all of our public workers who have been out cleaning up damage as quickly as possible and keeping residents safe.”

Elsewhere in the Bay Area, one person in Walnut Creek was killed Tuesday when a tree fell on their car. The car was traveling on Stanley Dollar Drive in the Rossmoor neighborhood when the tree fell on it. Con Fire said the car’s driver sustained minor injuries, but the passenger was killed.

One person was also killed near Portola Valley is also dead after a large eucalyptus tree fell on top of their car. The tree came crashing down on top of a plumbing van as the van was heading eastbound on Alpine Road west of I-280. It took emergency crews more than 20 minutes to reach the driver.

The victim has been identified as Jesus Cruz Diaz, 29, of San Jose.

A fifth person was killed in near Lake Merritt when a large tree fell on a tent, Oakland officials told KRON4. Oakland police responded to the area around 5:45 p.m. Tuesday and confirmed a man was inside the tent unconscious and not breathing. Responding crews said they had to cut the tree to remove the man from the tent. He was pronounced dead at 5:58 p.m.

Officials said the exact cause of death is unknown, but he is presumed to have died due blunt force or suffocation. The only significant visible trauma appeared to be in the torso area.