HANOVER TOWNSHIP – Investigators are looking into conflicting reports of possible drag racing in the moments before a rollover crash on the Sans Souci Parkway that seriously injured a driver Monday morning.
Hanover Township Police Chief Albert Walker told Newswatch 16 a driver lost control on the northbound lanes of the Sans Souci Parkway driving toward Wilkes-Barre, hit an embankment, went airborne and flew over a guiderail before flipping at least once and landing in a drainage ditch around 11:15 a.m.
Walker said the driver, who is not being identified, was ejected from the sedan and taken to Geisinger Wyoming Valley with life-threatening injuries, where he was last listed in critical condition.
According to Walker, some witnesses told police that the car involved in the crash appeared to be racing with another vehicle on the parkway, while other drivers said there was only one car driving at a high rate of speed and passing other vehicles before the wreck.
Melissa Cable told Newswatch 16 that she believes there were two cars racing on the parkway and that she told the driver of the car she was riding in to get out of the way.
"It looked as if they were racing, but I don't know. I just told him to slow down because I thought something was going to happen because he was going very, very fast,” said Cable. “I just panicked. That's somebody's kid. That's a person there. When I saw him lying on the ground I just went over to see if he was okay and called 911 and tried to get them here as fast as I could."
Donelle Kalinaoi told Newswatch 16 that she drives on the busy roadway nearly every day and was shaken to see the aftermath of the violent crash.
“You hear bad stuff about the Sans Souci, I've never seen anything this bad,” said Kalinaoi.
Anyone who witnessed the crash or saw a vehicle speeding away from the Hanover Township Municipal Building toward Wilkes-Barre around 11:15 a.m. on Monday is urged to call Hanover Township Police at 570-825-1254.