A three-vehicle road rage crash in San Bernardino left one person dead and another in critical condition on Saturday.
The cars eventually smashed through the front yard of a home on the 350 block of West Base Line Street around 10:45 a.m., according to the San Bernardino Police Department.
The incident began when a Dodge Ram truck and a BMW coupe were traveling eastbound on Base Line Steet near D Street.
At some point, the Dodge tried to overtake and pass the BMW, but was unsuccessful and clipped the BMW on the side, police said.
The maneuver caused the Dodge to collide with an oncoming minivan and which sent both vehicles through a fence and into the front yard of a home.
“The guy was doing maybe 50-60 and just plowed straight into them, like literally when you crush a can of soda, the side of it was like that,” said Robert Garcia, whose grandmother’s home was damaged during the crash.
Images from the scene showed major damage to both vehicles as stunned onlookers surrounded the area.
The minivan driver was transported to the hospital where they died from their injuries. A passenger in the minivan remains in critical condition.
The truck driver fled the scene on foot before police arrived. The BMW driver was uninjured and cooperated with police.
Witness Reggie Davis is still stunned and said the deadly crash happened in a split second.
“It was worse than in a movie,” said Davis. “I’ve never seen anything that close.”
Cassie Barcelon, who lives nearby, said cars on that particular stretch of road are known for driving fast.
“See they’re driving fast right now, look,” she said. “They drive fast like that because they just hit someone and they’ll get insurance.”
She believes speed was also a factor in the deadly collision.
“It was crazy,” said Barcelon. “They shouldn’t be driving like that when there are other people around.”
Officers are currently searching for the hit-and-run driver. Witnesses at the scene provided police with the suspect’s description as the case remains under investigation.