13 car crash described as "carnage"

DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) - A thundering crash jolted dozens of witnesses at the corner of North Main Street and Mumma Avenue at about 1:30 p.m. Sunday. The sound was of the second crash on North Main in a matter of seconds.

"I heard a big old bang and I live on Old Orchard and I came down here, ran down here, and this car behind me was in flames. So I ran over to the store and got some fire extinguishers," said Daphne Crowder, who came outside to find a Cadillac engulfed in flames and several cars left in its wake.

Many others rushed to help. They attempted to pull the man from the flaming car, but were unsuccessful.

"We made attempts to put the fire out, but there was no way we could get him out because he was trapped in the car," said Robert Ballard, who was in church when he heard the crash. Ballard said when he realized he couldn't save the driver, he went on to administer CPR on others.

The driver of the charred Cadillac is one of two drivers who died in the crash, they were also the only two drivers involved in both crashes, police said.

Witnesses reported seeing the Cadillac and a maroon Chrysler at the scene of an accident at the corner of North Main Street and Indianola Avenue, nearly ten blocks north. Witnesses said that crash happened just moments before the impact at the Mumma Avenue intersection.

Crash scene investigators believe that collision was caused by the driver of the Chrysler, who crashed into four other cars, including the Cadillac.

Police said for some reason, the Cadillac and Chrysler took off from the scene, tearing down Main Street at reported speeds up to 100 miles per hour. Witnesses saw the cars, and said the Cadillac was on fire from the collision.

"We're not exactly sure what was happening," said Lt. Bill Keller, Dayton Police. "We had conflicting stories about road rage and we had someone say they thought he [the driver of the Chrysler] had a medical condition the way he was driving. We're not sure yet."

"I looked up the street by Marathon seeing a car going real fast, too fast, and I look at the stop light and see cars stopped," said D-Scales, a witness. "So the dude come flying past going about 120 [miles per hour] and I thought damn, he isn't going to stop. I see his head drop some and all of a sudden he just kept on going. First impact he hit that Cadillac and it exploded. It hit the rest of the cars."

The driver of the Cadillac was pronounced dead at the scene. Police said the driver of the Chrysler died at the hospital. According to investigators, there were no passengers in either car. The second accident damaged eight more cars, and seven people were transported to the hospital.

"Carnage. That's the only way you can describe it is carnage," said Gary Staiger, witness.

Dayton Police closed North Main Street between Hudson Avenue and Forest Avenue while special traffic investigators processed the scene. The road was reopened at about 7 p.m.

Family members confirm that the driver of the Chrysler suffered from seizures, police said. It's not clear if that's what caused the crash, or why the driver of the Cadillac followed. Investigators admit we might never know.

Police were not releasing the victims' names Sunday evening.