At least one witness said the truck was traveling fast before the crash (video).
View full sizeA three-vehicle accident on Route 5 in Elbridge resulted in two deaths Wednesday afternoon. Another automobile accident to the west of this scene stopped traffic. While vehicles were stopped, the truck at left ran over a Kia vehicle (under tarp) which flipped, in turn running into the pickup truck at far right. The Kia vehicle caught fire and two people inside died. Elbridge, NY -- Two people died this afternoon in a fiery wreck on Route 5 in Elbridge as witnesses tried in vain to rescue the occupants and put out the flames.
The fatal crash was the third crash in a quarter-mile stretch of Route 5 within two hours. The other two crashes had relatively minor injuries. The two who died were stopped in traffic while the second crash was being cleaned up, Sheriff Kevin Walsh said at the scene.
A westbound tractor-trailer truck came up from behind the stopped car and ran over the vehicle, Walsh said. There were no skid marks on the road showing it applied its brakes before the crash, Walsh said.
At least one witness said the truck was traveling fast before the crash.
Killed were a man and woman in their 60s, neighbors of each other, Walsh said. Their identities were not released, but the sheriff said the wife and daughter of the driver has been notified. The man was taking his neighbor west into Elbridge when the crash occurred.
The man and woman were in a Kia, but deputies were unsure of the model because of the destruction of the vehicle in the crash, Sgt. John D’Eredita said.
Walsh explained the accident: The Kia was behind a pickup truck near the crest of a hill just west of the Rolling Hills Mobile Home Park when a tractor-trailer truck ran up and over the top of the Kia. The Kia spun and hit the pickup truck, which flipped and landed on its tires. The Kia became engulfed in flames.
Both occupants of the Kia died instantly, Walsh said. They were pronounced dead at the scene.
“I watched the tractor-trailer go over the top,” said Jeremy Soutar, an employee of Rolling Wheels Trailer Park. Soutar said the Kia rolled three times after the truck went over it. “There was fire on the ground when it plopped over for the last time, then it went phoom,” Soutar said.
The crash happened in front of a Dollar General store. Soutar ran into the store yelling for fire extinguishers. “We took every fire extinguisher the store had,” he said.
“Everybody was screaming ‘Get them out, get them out,’” Soutar said. “I passed a fire extinguisher to a guy who passed it a guy who was right next to the fire. The heat was intense.”
One person tried the door he said.
Sandy Penird, who works at Dollar General, also saw the crash. “All I can say is, that truck was hauling. It was going fast,” she said.
She said the people tried using the fire extinguisher, “but it wasn’t enough. It was just too far engulfed.”
Penird saw the vehicle in front of the Kia flip in the impact, she said. #8220;I’ve been to stock car races and seen cars flip, but it was nothing like this,” she said.
Pam Forney watched as one of the crowd that gathered tried to open the door of the Kia. “I told him to get the hell out of there. When the color of the smoke changed, I told him to get away,” Forney said.
The driver of the pickup truck, who complained of shoulder, neck and back pain, was taken to Auburn Memorial Hospital, Walsh said.
The driver of the truck, which had Casa Imports on the trailer, was taken to the state police barracks in Elbridge, where he was being interviewed by detectives. The sheriff said there was “nothing clearly evident of alcohol consumption.” Walsh there was no reason why the truck driver shouldn’t have seen the stopped traffic.
“It should have been blatantly obvious that vehicles were stopped,” Walsh said.
Police were called to the Rolling Wheels Mobile Home Park at 12:17 p.m. for the first crash, in which three vehicles were involved. Four people were taken to hospitals from that crash, with the most serious injury a broken leg, Walsh said.
A second crash, involving two vehicles and minor injuries, occurred at 1:37 p.m. about a quarter-mile west of the first crash, Walsh said. The crash scene was being cleaned up when, with traffic stopped, the third and fatal crash occurred at 1:55 p.m.
“It’s an unusual amount of accidents on a clear day like this,” Walsh said.