Two motorists recalled the terrifying moments when a car slammed into a tree and split apart, killing an 18-year-old woman and sending debris flying into the air and into their vehicles during a crash that also left an 18-year-old man critically hurt Tuesday evening on the South Side.
“I see the car go airborne and hit the tree. Dust everywhere, car parts flying, tree [limbs] flying toward my car.” Deleon McBride, 34, said. “It was like a big ‘boom,’ you could hear it smash.”
An 18-year-old man of the city’s South Side was behind the wheel of a black 2008 Cadillac CTS traveling south in the 2900 block of South DuSable Lake Shore Drive when he lost control of the car and rammed into a tree about 5 p.m., Chicago police said.
The impact of the crash caused the sedan to “split in half” and pin the passenger, an 18-year-woman, between the Cadillac and tree, according to traffic reports obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times.
The still-unidentified South Side woman was declared dead at the scene, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
The Cadillac driver suffered a head injury, possible broken neck, deep laceration to the nose and broken leg among other injuries, according to the traffic report. He was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center where he was in critical condition.
Debris from the Cadillac and tree damaged the grill and windshield of McBride’s 2018 Kia Forte as she was driving in the northbound lanes of Lake Shore Drive. Though the damage didn’t total her car, McBride still hasn’t been driving because of the emotional toll of the crash.
“I’m still kind of shaken up and sore from the situation,” said McBride, of Zion. “Seeing someone laying there lifeless outside the car was so scary to me and my heart just goes out to the family.”
Olanrewaju Obadare,, 37 and of Chatham, was driving in the north lanes from downtown when he witnessed the crash.
“He was at a high speed and he lost control of the car,” Obadare said of the Cadillac driver.
The bumper of the Cadillac ripped off, shattering the windshield and breaking the bumper of Obadare’s 2012 Toyota Highlander, according to Obadare.
Shards of glass got into Obadare’s eyes and bloodied his fingers, but he remained focused on the road and tried not to suddenly stop his car to try and protect himself and drivers around him in the less visible conditions.
“It felt like the world was going to end,” Obadare said. “If I smash the breaks at that moment, it could’ve been something else [that happened.]”
Obadare pulled over in front of the Field Museum to recollect himself before heading back to the scene of the crash to tell responding officers what happened.
“It makes me feel sad and dejected,” Obadare said. “That could’ve been me, that could’ve been anybody.”