Early Sunday morning, a car that was turning the corner from Mitchell Street onto College Avenue swerved off the road and crashed into a telephone pole, flipping the car on its side against the pole, according to the Ithaca Police Department. Neither the driver –– who was later arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated –– nor the car’s only passenger sustained any injuries and both climbed out of the car after the accident under their own will.The accident, which happened sometime around 3 a.m., quickly became a spectacle for surrounding residents.“It was so loud it shook our house,” Kristen McClellan ’12, who lives near the location of the accident, said. “Everyone heard the noise because it was very loud and everyone who was in their houses ran out at the same time towards the car.”“I heard the screech of [the car] coming around the corner and I looked out the window and saw his car go up and fall back on the roof of the car,” said another eyewitness, who wished to remain anonymous.For most observers, their first reaction was to run back inside their homes and call the police –– something that several witnesses did –– but the driver appeared to have a different plan in mind.According to the eyewitness, who wished to remain anonymous, the driver got out of the car and began yelling at people not to call 911, repeatedly saying “let’s try to flip this car over.”The eyewitness added that the driver and the passenger tried to flip the car over and though they “got it rocking a little bit,” they ultimately were unsuccessful.Eventually, police officers arrived on scene, arrested the driver and brought him down to the station, according to Sgt. Robert Brotherton of the IPD. He was released later that night, though he is currently being charged with a DWI and will need to appear in court, Brotherton said. He added that a tow truck was needed to remove the car.Brotherton declined to release the identities of the driver or the passenger because a police report had not yet been filed. He said that officers have up to 72 hours after an accident to file the report.
Original Author: Sun Staff