Dodge with a driver in his 20s, a man walked into a police station in neighboring Santa Monica, told officers he was involved in the boardwalk incident, Neiman said.

Police then found a car nearby that they believe belonged to the man, Neiman said.

Hours later detectives were questioning the man, calling him a person of interest and attempting to determine whether he was the driver, Neiman said.

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Neiman would give no details on the identity of the person who died or the person of interest.

The site isn't from the Santa Monica Farmer's Market where a 2003 crash left 10 dead and 63 hurt, after an 87-year-old man's car accidentally roared through the market.

According to the security video and witness accounts, the man with a baseball cap, gray shirt andwhite pants parked next to the Cadillac Hotel, twice walking out to the boardwalk before getting into the Dodge Avenger and accelerating, swerving around yellow poles meant to prevent cars from getting into the pedestrian-only area and onto the boardwalk.

"I heard a big 'boom, boom,' like the sound of someone going up and down the curb, it was super loud," said Alex Hagan, 22, who was working the desk at the Cadillac Hotel and watched the scene unfold from the start.

The man knocked over two mannequins then started hitting people, swerving from side to side and often running straight into them.

The crowd of hundreds of couples, families and children who had been sitting at cafes, shopping and walking lazily along in shorts and sandals were sent on a