HOLLYWOOD, Fla. — A man and woman were killed when their red sports car split in two after slamming into a tree shortly after 3 a.m. Sunday, Hollywood police said.
The car was heading west on Johnson Street when the driver veered off the road at North 32 Avenue, narrowly missing a fire hydrant only to smash into a nearby oak tree that left the car bisected. The front part of the car crashed through the wooden fence of a nearby home. The rear section landed in the road.
Police could not say what caused the crash or how fast the car was going when the driver lost control. The department has not yet identified the victims or the type of car they were in, but said a 911 call came in at 3:10 a.m.
“It appears to be a single-vehicle crash,” said Hollywood police spokeswoman Deanna Bettineschi. “Two people were pronounced deceased at the scene.”
Several homeowners in the quiet tree-lined neighborhood were awakened by the crash.
“The car was so mangled you couldn’t even tell what it was,” said one neighbor who watched fire crews clean up crash debris from the corner of Johnson Street and North 32nd Avenue.
“I’m told it was a Dodge Viper,” he said.
Neighbor Paul Nickerson and his family also witnessed the aftermath.
“The flashing lights woke us up at 3:30 a.m.,” Nickerson said. “The owners of the house told me they called 911. The front of the car was in their yard and the back part was in the road.”
Nickerson noted that the tree had a chunk of bark missing but was still standing.
“The tree always wins,” he said. “It’s sad.”
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