A block of Sixth Street was shut down for a couple hours early Thursday afternoon after a driver who is believed to have sped through a downtown intersection and smashed into multiple vehicles, flying through the air before coming to rest.
According to witnesses, around 1pm Sept. 24, a Chrysler 300S was traveling westbound on Sixth Street between Monterey and Eigleberry streets when a Toyota sedan pulled out of Gourmet Alley. The Chrysler clipped the Toyota, which crashed into a Jeep, ripped the mirror off a Fiat 500 and plowed into a Chevrolet 2500HD pickup truck, the force of the impact pushing the truck onto the sidewalk.
The Jeep, meanwhile, spun into a park ed vehicle, which was shoved into other parked vehicles.
Alyssa McGrew, whose vehicle was rear-ended in the pileup, said she saw one vehicle go airborne during the rapid chain of events.
Police, fire engines and ambulances raced to the scene to assist the injured and deconstruct the sequence of events amidst a street littered with grills, fenders, hub caps, and pieces of broken tail lights reflected the midday sun. Russet potatoes, iceberg lettuce leaves and shoe boxes were strewn about amidst other random items ejected from cars during the impacts.
A young girl who was a passenger in one of the vehicles was taken to a hospital. The Jeep’s driver also suffered injuries.
Police are currently interviewing the driver as the investigation continues. Drugs and/or alcohol do not appear to have been factors in the crash.
This story has been updated.
