Parkway closed to traffic. Police looking for silver "Scion-type" vehicle that may have been involved in road rage incident that led to crash. (Video)
Salina, NY – A road rage incident likely triggered a four-vehicle crash that killed a woman this afternoon on Onondaga Lake Parkway, Sheriff Kevin Walsh said.
The woman, whose identity was not yet known to police, was driving a Ford Taurus northbound on the parkway at 12:35 p.m. when the crash occurred. Her passenger was taken to Upstate University Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Two other drivers were also transported to local hospitals with injuries not considered life-threatening, authorities said.
Here is what happened, according to Walsh:
Two vehicles were going southbound on the parkway towards Syracuse when witnesses said they became involved in a road rage incident. A Volkswagen car was passed by a silver vehicle, which then pulled in the path of the Volkswagen.
The driver of the Volkswagen then crossed the double line into oncoming traffic lanes to pass the silver vehicle.
View full sizeA silver sedan came to rest off Onondaga Lake Parkway today after a four-vehicle crash.At that point, the Volkswagen crashed into the driver's side of the northbound Taurus near the CSX railroad overpass. The woman driving the Taurus was killed instantly and her vehicle crashed into the ditch off the east side of the highway.
Two other vehicles behind the Taurus tried to avoid the crash. A Chevrolet pickup was struck and ended up in the ditch in front of the Taurus. Its driver suffered minor injuries.
A Dodge Caravan was struck by the engine of the Volkswagen, which had come off upon impact and was spinning in the roadway. The Caravan ended up on the opposite side of the highway in a ditch, facing the wrong way. Its driver was not injured.
The silver vehicle, described as looking like a Scion, sped away after the apparent road rage incident. That driver was not directly involved in the crash, but sheriff's deputies are looking for that driver as a witness.
View Fatal crash in a larger map
The silver "Scion-type" vehicle has a Yankees sticker in the rear window.
Two and a half hours after the crash, five police cars remained on the north side of the scene. On the south side of scene, three marked police cars remained. Someone in a safety vest was surveying the wreckage.
A body was removed from the scene at about 3:50 p.m., a witness said.
A worker on nearby Old Liverpool Road said he heard the crash from the parking lot.
"It was so loud we thought it was right here," said David Riles, an employee of Le Moyne Manor on Old Liverpool Road who was standing at least 100 yards away with trees and bushes in between.
Debris littered the four-lane highway after the crash. At least one vehicle -- a silver sedan -- came to rest in a ditch off the eastern shoulder of the highway. Syracuse police officers and state troopers joined Onondaga County Sheriff's deputies at the scene. Liverpool and Mattydale fire departments responded.
A large piece of a car's front grill landed in the eastbound lanes. Emergency responders were heard shouting frantic instructions and police vehicles, sirens blaring, raced to the scene along the closed roadway.
The crash happened near the railroad bridge about halfway between Syracuse and Liverpool.
The parkway remains closed in both directions.