Tim Frangioso was sitting in his home office at about 2:45 a.m. Saturday when he heard a large bang. He figured a truck hit something on the busy street.
Minutes later, he heard what sounded like a gunshot — and saw his neighbor’s home engulfed in flames.
It took hours to learn that a car carrying four teenagers smashed into the home two doors down, badly injuring his neighbor, Joseph Lucia. One of the passengers in the car was also killed.
Lucia is said by a friend to have suffered a life-threatening injury.
Frangioso said the car hit a gas line, prompting a blast and fire.
“It sounded like a gunshot,” he said. “It was a good hour into the event until I knew there was even a car inside.”
On Sunday morning, neighbors gathered outside to share worries about Lucia and to try to get more information about his condition.
“We understand he is in the hospital with broken bones. I just hope he is OK,” said Linda Hernke, who has lived on Cross Street all her life and is the next-door neighbor to Lucia, whose 1084 Montgomery St. house is at the corner of Cross Street.
Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni said a car carrying four teenagers aged 19, 18, 17 and 13, crashed into the house after being spotted speeding on Broadway. A police officer monitored the car and pulled over it over on Montgomery Street. The driver stopped briefly — then fled, only to crash into the house.
Three teens escaped the car and were taken to Baystate Medical Center for what Gulluni called minor injuries. The fourth passenger, as yet unidentified, died at the scene. The crash is under investigation by the Massachusetts State Police. Gulluni has not released any other information about the crash or charges anyone may face.
Lucia was on the first floor of his house and was hit by the car when it came crashing through the northwest wall.
“His brother Peter got him out,” Hernke said. “They were lucky he had a couple of seconds to get out.”
Lucia has owned the home, which was destroyed in the crash, for at least 15 years and lives there with his brother. Residents called him a good friend and neighbor and said they hope he will recover.
“Joe is just a nice guy. If you need help, he will help you,” said George Teixeira, who lives across from the Lucia home on the other corner of Cross and Montgomery streets.
When he heard the crash, Teixeira threw on clothes and went outside to see Lucia’s brother bringing him out of the house. Lucia was unconscious and bleeding from the mouth. He saw that three of the young people in the car had also gotten out.
“I just hope he is OK,” he said of his neighbor.
Lucia, who is in his mid-40s, has worked at Teddy Bear Pools for at least 25 years in the company’s construction division, said Jim Cloutier, his supervisor and close friend.
“We are all close and we are all devastated by what happened,” he said.
Employees are waiting to hear word on their friend’s condition. Once they know what he needs, they will hold a benefit or fundraiser to help him, Cloutier said.
“We want to do right by Joe,” he said. “As a group, everyone at Teddy Bear is pulling for him. We are hoping for a quick and speedy recovery for him.”
He referred to Lucia as a good guy and a good employee who has a lot of friends and loves animals.
Another friend of Lucia, Krista Osborne, posted an emotional appeal Sunday afternoon, seeking donations from the public.
Osborne reported on a crowdfunding site that Lucia suffered life-threatening injuries in the crash. She said he was trapped under the car that hit his house until his brother found him and pulled him out.
“His brother, who searched for Joey for several agonizing minutes, was able to pull Joey from the wreckage, only to realize that his beloved brother would be in for the fight of his life,” Osborne posted on GoFundMe.
“Joey is one of the kindest people I have ever encountered,” she wrote. “Friends … are praying at this very moment that he pulls through this devastating tragedy.”
Frangioso said he was relieved to learn that Lucia’s two dogs, one named Skippy and the other a big and friendly hound, were rescued from the fire. His dog and Lucia’s dogs often play together.
Teixeira said the car ran over a fire hydrant in front of his home before barreling into his neighbor’s home. The vehicle missed the guardrail — erected in front of the house to prevent exactly what happened — by a foot.
“It is a hill and dangerous curve and people, or at least some people, drive like crazy,” he said.
In the 18 years he has lived in his home, Teixeira said three of the four houses in a row between Lucia’s home and 1052 Montgomery St. have been struck by cars. While his house has been spared, he said at least three vehicles have crossed his front lawn over the years.
While the crash was horrific, Teixeira, Frangioso and Hernke and her husband, Frank Hernke, all said they were impressed by the fast response from the police and fire departments. They praised the professionalism of the first responders as they handled the incident.
“Everyone just seemed to do what had to be done on a timely basis,” Teixeira said.
Because of the leak, the gas company went into each of the neighborhood’s homes to make sure there were no residual gas problems created by the crash.
First responders were on the scene for hours. Cross and Montgomery streets were closed until at least 9 a.m.
Although the hydrant had been destroyed by the car, it didn’t seem to faze the firefighters, who were quickly able to start extinguishing the blaze, Teixeira said.
“Our guys arrived with water in the pumper truck so they could start putting on water right away and they took the next nearest hydrant so there was no interruption,” Fire Capt. Katie Collins Kalbaugh said. “That is why we train so we are ready to handle things like this.”
Once the fire was extinguished, it took time for firefighters to remove the car from the house and they had to call in a crane. They then used a hydraulic cutting tool to enter the vehicle and remove the passenger who died in the crash.
Teixeria said he was impressed with the respect the first responders showed to the person killed in the crash. When it came time to remove the teen from the car, they blocked the area with their bodies or vehicles so passersby could not see the victim.
This is the latest of at least eight fatal crashes that have taken place in the city in the past six months, including five pedestrian crashes and one that left a bicyclist dead. The spate of crashes has prompted city officials to work on improving street safety and the police department to increase enforcement.
Chicopee Mayor John L. Vieau said he could not comment of the specifics of the crash because it is under investigation.
“It is very sad the crash ended up with the loss of life. Condolences to the family and friends who lost a loved one yesterday,” he said.
Kathleen Gagnon stopped at the scene of the fatal crash Sunday morning. She remarked that she was not surprised something had happened, given the speed at which vehicles travel through the city.
“I live on Broadway and a lot of vehicles come down from the plaza, they come down so fast,” she said. “It’s constant, two o’clock in the morning, one o’clock in the morning. Those cars with the special mufflers that make noise and those little scooters they ride.”
The car carrying the four teenagers was first spotted speeding down her street.
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