Juvenile killed, another injured in car crash in Wilkinsburg
WILKINSBURG, Pa. (KDKA) — A juvenile was killed and another was injured in a fiery car crash in Wilkinsburg on Sunday morning.
According to the Allegheny County Police Department, officers were notified of a single-vehicle crash at the intersection of Swissvale and Wallace avenues around 7:30 a.m.
Once on the scene, first responders found the driver, a juvenile male, dead and the passenger, another juvenile male, injured but in stable condition. Investigators said preliminary information shows the driver hit a utility pole and the vehicle caught fire.
"The whole flames went boom, everything. The whole car was on fire," witness Chester Clark told KDKA-TV.
"I came out the door, the car had hit the pole, was on fire," witness Kenneth Smith said.
Smith says he and someone else braved the flames and pulled one of the juveniles out of the passenger side. He said he tried to save the other juvenile.
"We tried to go and get him out," he said. "But we couldn't get him out. There was no handle. There's nothing we could do to get him out."
Police on-scene told KDKA-TV that the sedan, which appeared to be a red Acura, was in the process of being reported stolen. The car had an Ohio plate.
What remains now is a hint of red from the charred car being towed away, and a large puddle of soot in the ground. That and a feeling from Smith on whether he could have done more, dueling emotions of a good Samaritan still experiencing so much sorrow.
"You don't really want to fail at it," Smith said. "You still feel like you failed."
Anyone with information can call the county police tip line at 1-833-ALL-TIPS.