BOSTON (WHDH) - An 18-year-old was killed and a girl was injured in a violent crash that split a car in half, shut down part of Route 1A, and knocked out power to thousands of residents in East Boston on Wednesday night, officials said.
Officers responding to a report of a crash on the southbound side of McClellan Highway just after 8 p.m. found a mangled car wrapped around a utility pole, according to the Boston Police Department.
Jonathan Hernandez was pronounced dead at the scene.
The juvenile girl was taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Video from the scene showed the vehicle split in two and a utility pole that was leaning over.
A preliminary investigation indicated that the vehicle careened into the pole after colliding with another vehicle, according to police. The second vehicle then struck a guardrail.
The highway remained closed for hours as utility crews worked to make repairs in the area.
The crash initially knocked power out to more than 2,000 customers. Power has since been restored to some.
Investigators noted that speed was a factor in this crash.
“My guestimate would be over 100, over 100 mph, to split a car in two,” a worker at a local auto body shop said. “When they take the turn here on Addison Street, sometimes they don’t even brake and you can hear the tires squeal.”
Residents who live in the area say motorists often “fly” down that stretch of road.
“From midnight to four in the morning, people are racing and flying,” one woman said. “It’s very dangerous. There are a bunch of stop lights, too, but people just fly.”
The crash remains under investigation.
(Copyright (c) 2024 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)