WASHINGTON -- Several people were injured in a serious crash in southeast Washington late Wednesday afternoon.
A Cadillac carrying two people struck an SUV carrying three people at Pennsylvania Avenue and Alabama Avenue, causing the SUV to flip, News4's Tracee Wilkins reported.
"They hit me from the back and flipped my vehicle over," said Herman Smith, the driver of the SUV and the only person involved who wasn't hospitalized. "All I know is when I turned around I was dragging and I said, 'Oh my God! Is my mother and my aunt alright?' So when the vehicle stopped rolling, I got out the vehicle. Then I proceeded to help my mother."
Witnesses rushed to the scene to help remove the passengers from the vehicles, Wilkins reported.
"I gotta be honest with you, it looked even worse than the (fire) chief described," said D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty, who was nearby with other government officials preparing for a news conference.
Two passengers had to be cut out of the vehicles and airlifted to local hospitals, Wilkins reported.
"So fast they cut open the cars, pulled the people out, got them to the hospital -- real heroes in our fire department again here today," Fenty said.
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Pennsylvania Avenue is closed in the area. Motorists were advised to avoid the area during rush hour. People who use the Pennsylvania Avenue Bridge were told to find another route.
Four people were hospitalized. Their conditions are unknown.
