FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — At least four people were killed, and four others hurt in a three-vehicle crash Wednesday night, Fayetteville Police tell CBS North Carolina.
“The damage is devastating,” Chief Harold Medlock told CBS North Carolina. “This is the worst crash that I’ve ever seen in my career.”
Police are working to contact family members of the people who were killed in the wreck, but say those victims are all in their late teens or early twenties.
Of those who were hurt, one is in grave condition in Cape Fear Valley Medical Center. Two others are also at Cape Fear. A fourth person is in serious condition.
Medlock says investigators suspect speed played a role in the accident, which happened just after 8:00 on Cliffdale Road near Lynhurst Drive.
“We believe that the speeds were pretty excessive,” Medlock said.
Dylan Patterson says he was riding his bike in front of the apartment complex and witnessed the crash.
He says two cars were racing on Cliffdale Road at speeds up to 70 miles per hour. That’s when Patterson says another car pulled out of the apartment complex and all three cars collided.
“There were some cars racing, coming down this way and I was riding my bike behind a guy and I saw him pull out and there was a crash,” Patterson told CBS North Carolina reporter David Hurst,”Shrapnel came around my face and I was kind of freaked out at the time.”
A resident who lives nearby said she heard a loud boom and as soon as she came outside, people were screaming for help.
Patterson reflected on the severity of the accident, saying, “It’s really not worth it…four people lost their lives here…others at the hospital. Just be safe, please be safe Fayetteville.”
“I’ve seen bad ones,” Chief Medlock said. “This is as bad or worse than anything I’ve ever seen.”
An extensive investigation continued throughout the night and into the early morning. The road was reopened to traffic by 2:30 a.m.