RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — One woman is dead and three people, including two Richmond police officers, are seriously hurt after a car crash Thursday night.
Police Chief Gerald Smith held a press briefing Friday morning.
The crash happened along Bells and Castlewood Roads as officers D’Quan Walker and Richard Johnson were responding to a burglary call, he said.
The police cruiser collided with a Buick at the intersection. Smith said the cruiser was knocked into two poles and came to a stop at a nearby fence. Both officers have serious head injuries.
The 18-year-old driver of the Buick is in the hospital fighting for his life, said Smith.
A 19-year-old woman was thrown from the passenger seat of the Buick and was pronounced dead at the scene.
It’s not clear which car hit the other, Smith added.
Richmond city crews were out fixing the poles at the crash site Friday afternoon.
“This is a traumatic incident for this community and a region as a whole, because there are so many eerie similarities to the accident in which we lost officer Trey Sutton,” he said.
Jhalmar Elvir, who lives across the street from the crash site, came outside moments after it happened.
“It was pretty bad. The car was completely destroyed,” he said.
Castlewood Road near the Bells Road intersection was blocked off with tape, said Elvir.
He recorded cell phone video during the aftermath of the crash.
“Looked pretty bad honestly. I hope the person that was driving was okay because it was a pretty bad accident,” he said.
