Young man dies in fiery crash on Detroit's east side
(CBS DETROIT) – A Detroit family is mourning the death of a young man who died in a fiery crash on the city's east side over the weekend.
Police say the driver was speeding in the neighborhood, tried to avoid a car, lost control, and slammed into a tree at Woodhall Street and Linville Avenue. The SUV caught fire, trapping the driver and three passengers.
Neighbors, including Florine Ashford, ran out and did whatever they could to get them out.
"It is sad and is a sad sight to see," Ashford said.
Ashford woke up Saturday morning and saw flames rip through an SUV outside her bedroom window.
She called 911 and joined neighbors trying to rescue the driver and three passengers out.
"Everyone was trying to get them out, and the flames were too high. I heard a couple of people saying, 'it's hot! It's hot," Ashford said.
As Good Samaritans and police broke the SUV's windows, they used a fire extinguisher from Ashford's kitchen.
"Once they got the flames down, it just ignited right back, so it was really hard for them to try to get them out of there, and they were trying to get them out," Ashford told CBS Detroit.
Eventually, they pulled the driver and two passengers out and were transported to St. John's Hospital in serious condition.
However, the third passenger, a man in his 20s, sitting next to the driver, died at the scene.
"A very senseless accident that didn't have to take place," Detroit Police Department Assistant Chief Charles Fitzgerald said on Saturday.
According to DPD, the SUV had been driving recklessly several times that morning.
"That same vehicle was reported early in the day doing spin outs doing the drifting and nonsense that we see every day, and unfortunately, we keep telling you it's got to stop," Fitzgerald said.
Detroit Police is still conducting its investigation. Once done, they will send the case to the Wayne County prosecutor to consider any charges in this fatal crash.
"This is residential. This is not a race track," Ashford said. "People, be careful and drive with caution. There are other people out here driving, and lives do matter."
