Storm death toll hits 3, including outdoors lover killed by tree

Storm death toll hits 3, including outdoors lover killed by tree

McKeown was a veteran freelance writer and editor, originally from Canada, who loved the outdoors, said Mike Woodring, a Concord resident who hired her for a project identifying and cataloging Mount Diablo State Park’s wildflowers.

Woodring said he knew the couple lived near the golf course where McKeown was killed, and he’d heard about the “freak accident” — but he didn’t put the two together at first.

Car crashes that apparently were connected to the storm killed two people Sunday, including a man whose taxicab drove into the estuary near Oakland International Airport.

The other crash victim died on northbound Interstate 880 at the Mission Boulevard exit in Fremont, according to the California Highway Patrol.

There was localized flooding and intermittent heavy rains at the time of the 7:30 a.m. crash, the CHP said.

While authorities advised drivers to be cautious on the slick roadways, they were also warning Bay Area residents about the danger of trees, which were susceptible to the combination of saturated soil and strong winds.

In Marin County, the National Park Service closed Muir Woods just before noon as a “precautionary measure due to high winds and the risk of falling branches.”

Fallen tree limbs were also to blame for significant delays on BART and Caltrain, and a downed tree on Interstate 280 in Hillsborough forced the closure of southbound lanes for two hours in the afternoon.

Two apartments at the Sunnydale public housing complex near McLaren Park were red-tagged early Sunday after winds blew down a tree, sending it crashing into a building.