1 hurt when car hits tree, cuts in half

WEST SENECA, N.Y. (WIVB) - A Buffalo man was seriously injured Sunday morning after a terrifying car accident in West Seneca.

West Seneca Police say the 25-year-old driver was heading west on Seneca Street when his car veered off the right side of the road, smashed into a tree before colliding with an unoccupied car that was parked in a nearby driveway at 4:00 a.m.

>> See more photos from the scene

The impact with the tree was so severe it tore the car in half and ejected the driver from the vehicle.

The man was taken to ECMC with multiple injuries. He is currently listed in critical condition.

An investigation into the crash is underway. Authorities say speed was a factor; however, at this time, they do not believe alcohol was involved.

It was a boom, loud enough to wake up the neighborhood.

"They said what's going on? We said there's a car crash and we heard a big boom. And we went upstairs and told my parents," says Jadence Sharp of West Seneca.

"I opened up the front door and I was like, 'Oh my god,'" says January Delaney of West Seneca.

"Right over there by that tree was half of a car. The other half was over there by our vehicle," says Barbara Delaney, who is in West Seneca visiting family.

"It's going to be a trip we never forget," she says.

Her car parked on Seneca Street became the resting spot for a vehicle ripped in half after hitting a tree at a high speed.

West Seneca Police do not believe the driver was drinking, but say he was going too fast.

"There had to be something happening if he was up at 4am and going that fast. And he was not in good shape," says January.

The 25-year-old man was ejected from the vehicle. Little Jadence Sharp looked out the window before waking her parents and grandparents and saw him lying against her grandma's car.

"And I woke up and thought it was a dream. but it was real. And it was real scary," Jadence says.

"The accident was so bad; we had car pieces on our porch. And my kids actually found the back of this guy's cell phone right outside of their window. If this tree wasn't here, they would have ran right into our house," January says.

The adults made sure to shield the kids from seeing anymore. And they explained to them this why you don't speed. But still, it's hard to get past the shock.

"You see this stuff on TV all the time, but you don't expect someone to literally crash in your front yard and hit your vehicles," January says.