Updated
Two people were killed and two were left in critical condition after a vehicle collided with a utility pole early Sunday morning on Route 13 at Cascadilla Street.
At approximately 3:54 a.m., a car was reported to have hit the utility pole near the intersection of North Fulton Street and Cascadilla Street, according to emergency radio reports. The accident “pulled lines down in the area” and caused “significant injuries,” according to the radio report.
Both survivors are in critical condition, YNN reported. One survivor was transported to a trauma center in Syracuse, N.Y., while the other was transported to a hospital in Pennsylvania.
As of Sunday evening, police said that the names of the passengers could not be released until proper notifications could be made to family members.
Responders from the Ithaca Fire Department, Bang’s Ambulance Service and Ithaca Police Department aided the passengers, a police report stated. While the “investigation is currently ongoing and all possible causes of the crash are being looked at,” the police report stated that “it is known that the speed of the vehicle did play a factor in the crash.”
As of 2:40 p.m., the area remained cordoned off by police, and the street signs for Cascadilla and North Fulton Street were dented by the impact of the car crash. A broken powerline lay on the road, and New York State Electric and Gas officials were at the scene, attempting to fix the utility pole.
The accident appeared to have involved only one vehicle, according to police.
IPD — along with New York State Police Investigators, who are collecting specialized evidence — is currently investigating the accident, the police report stated.
After the accident, all traffic on the southbound lane of Route 13 — which enters the City of Ithaca — was diverted to Third Street, according to the radio report.
Original Author: Akane Otani