A Cape Coral driver and passenger lost their lives Sunday in a fiery crash after a speeding vehicle slammed into their car, flipping it and ramming it into a cement light pole, Cape Coral Police have said.
Another involved in the crash suffered non-life-threatening injuries in the three-car crash that took place in the 4000 block of Del Prado Boulevard South.
Although police are withholding victim identities and identifying makes and models of the cars involved until next-of-kin can be informed, a news release Monday went into detail as to how the crash unfolded.
The crash took place at 8:43 p.m. Sunday near the intersection of Del Prado Boulevard South and SE 40th Street, as one vehicle (1) was traveling north on Del Prado and two others (2 and 3) were traveling south. Vehicle 2 was following directly behind Vehicle 3 in the fast lane, police said.
As Vehicle 1 made a left-hand turn across Del Prado, crossing the path of Vehicles 3 and 2, Vehicle 3 slowed down to avoid Vehicle 1, but Vehicle 2 sped up, moved into the middle lane and passed Vehicle 3 on the right. As it did so, the front of Vehicle 2 slammed into Vehicle 1's passenger side and flipped Vehicle 1 onto its roof.
Vehicle 2 continued forward towards the south, pushing Vehicle 1, now on its roof, toward the southbound shoulder; Vehicle 1 began rotating clockwise.
Vehicle 1 slid backwards on its roof along the sidewalk until coming to a stop when it struck a cement light pole roughly 190 feet south of SE 40th Street. The car caught fire, and both driver and passenger inside Vehicle 1 were pronounced dead at the scene by Cape Coral Fire and EMS, police said.
After flipping Vehicle 1 and ramming it into the light pole, Vehicle 2 rotated clockwise and its rear end struck the passenger front and side of Vehicle 3, which was now traveling alongside Vehicle 2.
As a result of the hit, Vehicle 3 crossed the raised cement median and began traveling south in the northbound lane. The driver of Vehicle 3 managed to maneuver into a parking lot on the side of the road at 4037 Del Prado Boulevard South, where the driver and passenger waited for first responders.
The driver and passenger of Vehicle 3 were evaluated at the scene and not transported to the hospital.
Vehicle 2 continued to spin clockwise and slide, until it came to a rest on the cement median that separates the southbound and northbound lanes of Del Prado Blvd South.
The driver of Vehicle 2 was transported to Gulf Coast Medical Center and determined to have suffered non-life threatening injuries.
Although speed was a factor in the crash, alcohol and drugs were not, police said.
Lee County EMS, Cape Coral Police and Cape Coral Fire and Rescue all responded to the scene.
Police shut down a section of Del Prado Boulevard South in both directions from Savona Parkway to SE 40th Terrace for several hours, securing the scene of the crash, and posted on Facebook asking residents to avoid the area. By 11 p.m., the road had reopened.
On the Facebook announcement of the road re-opening, one person commented that one of the cars involved in the crash had rolled over and caught on fire.
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Cape Coral PD details how two lost their lives in fiery crash on Del Prado Sunday night
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