Two people died when an out-of-control vehicle hit a curb, then a tree and crashed into the front of an apartment building and exploded in Westchester County Monday, authorities say.
Emergency personnel responding to the 9:10 a.m. accident scene on Battle Avenue found the vehicle fully engulfed, with firefighters quickly going into action to put out the flames. The building also caught fire. Some who live on the second floor of the building ran out once they heard the sound of the explosion.
"[Firefighters] made the decision quick and smart decision of extricating from inside the building. So they tied it up to an emergency service truck," said White Plains Public Safety Commissioner David Chong.
A woman who lives on the first level of the building said she was lucky her son wasn't home at the time.
"I’m happy no one was at the apartment. My son is fine, he is away in college. I gotta break the news to him tonight," said Zaneta Williams. "His room is not here right now, but we’ll rebuild it."
The vehicle is believed to have been an electric Tesla. How it was functioning is a component of the investigation, but police believe the driver lost control at some point on Battle Avenue.
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"We are trying to determine what happened here — if it was a mechanical issue or a personal, medical issue or something like that," said Chong.
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The bodies of two women from Hartsdale were found in the vehicle once the fire was out. Both were "badly burned," according to Chong. The driver was later identified as 70-year-old Millie Sheehan, while the passenger was 36-year-old Diana Sheehan.
It appears that the two women had just dropped a couple of children off at a nearby daycare before the crash.
Two other people inside the building were hurt as well, but are expected to recover. A third person was hit by shrapnel from the car explosion, and was recovering at the hospital.
Chopper 4 was over the scene as crews brought in a bulldozer to pull away the charred vehicle husk.
The investigation is ongoing.
