Two killed in high speed crash in Lancaster, police probe race report
By Gene Warner
Updated: 05/09/08 9:58 AM
Two people in their 20s died following a high-speed one-car crash on Transit Road in Lancaster late Thursday night, and witnesses have told police they saw that car racing another vehicle before the crash.
The two people who died were in a car that crossed four lanes on Transit, south of William, and slammed into a utility pole with enough force to split the car in half.
A 21-year-old Cheektowaga woman, a passenger in the crashed vehicle, was pronounced dead at the scene.
The driver, a 24-year-old Lancaster man, was taken by Mercy Flight to Erie County Medical Center, where he died shortly before 7 a.m. today, authorities said.
Lancaster police have not released the names of the two young people at mid-morning, as they still were notifying relatives.
Their vehicle, a 2002 Ford Mustang, was southbound on Transit Road, traveling at a high rate of speed, when the driver lost control near Michael Anthony Way at about 10:35 p.m., police said.
"Because of the condition of the vehicle and the way it split in half, I'm not sure we're going to be able to determine the speed," said Lt. Ronald Rozler, who heads the Lancaster police Accident Investigation Unit.
Two witnesses told police that they saw the Mustang stopped at a red light at Transit and William, in the driving lane and next to another car, which was in the passing lane. One witness said the other car was a small black car, possibly a Dodge Neon.
"Both vehicles left the light at a high rate of speed," Rozler said the witnesses told police. The crash occurred roughly a quarter of a mile south of William.
Accident investigators want to talk with anyone who has any information about the crash, including more details about the other car. People are asked to call 683-2800.
The force of the impact with the utility pole ejected both occupants from the vehicle. The driver apparently was wearing a seatbelt, because investigators found the end of the belt still buckled into its receiver. They don't know whether the woman was wearing hers.
Investigators have found no indication that alcohol or drugs were involved in the crash.
They believe that the man was driving the woman to her Cheektowaga home at the time of the crash.
