ROSWELL, Ga. — A woman who police believe was in a mental health crisis ran off Highway 9 in Roswell and slammed into a curb sending the car flying into the air for 15 yards before it crashed into the side of a vacant building and fell onto its roof.
This crash happened around noon Sunday along Highway 9 south of Holcomb Bridge Road, as Channel 2 reported.
Channel 2’s Tom Regan was live in Roswell for Channel 2 Action News at 5:00.
“We heard a loud boom and another boom. And as we turned around, we saw a car careening off the median and catapulting into the air about 10 feet up. It hit this structure and then bounced down, and was completely flattened, upside down. The engine block was about 20 feet away. There was oil and leaking everywhere, a huge field of debris.” said witness Tyler Shoemaker.
Shoemaker told Regan that he has his fiancé had returned from a coffee shop when they witnessed the horrible crash.
“The impact, the car had to be going around 70 miles per hour plus. It was almost like in slow motion when we turned and saw it twisting in the air. It was very loud. I was shocked it was not on fire. There was gas all around. I immediately ran up. I dialed 911. There were already people from across the street, tending to the driver. It sounded like she was conscious,” Shoemaker said.
Roswell police say the exact chain of events are still under active investigation by the Traffic Enforcement Unit, “but we do believe she struck other vehicles/fixed objects prior to the crash into the building. Our preliminary investigation points heavily toward a mental health crisis and intentional attempt at self-harm by the driver.”
Shoemaker credits first responders for their quick actions that saved the driver’s life.
“The police, the paramedics, a real shout out to the first responders,” he said.
Police haven’t released the name of the driver and say she is hospitalized with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.
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