2 Killed, 20 Injured After Accident Sends 2 Cars Into Crowd at Neb. Car Show: Police
Two people were killed and 20 others were injured after a pair of cars crashed and careened into a crowd late Sunday night, according to authorities.
The crash took place just after 10:45 p.m. Sunday night when a black Ford Taurus traveling westbound on O Street struck a white Toyota Corolla facing eastbound on the roadway, the Lincoln Police Department said in a statement on Monday.
The collision "forced" both vehicles "onto the north sidewalk" west of North 52nd Street, where dozens of people were sitting and standing for a nearby car show, Americruise, authorities said.
LPD Captain Max Hubka said the Toyota's 20-year-old female driver and her 22-year-old female passenger, both of Lincoln, were pronounced dead at the scene, according to ABC station KETV and The Lincoln Journal Star.
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An 18-year-old male from Omaha, who was driving the Ford, was taken to a nearby hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, per the reports.
The LPD did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.
Ten people were taken to Bryan Medical Center for treatment, according to a news release from Bryan Health obtained by KETV. Two of the 10 victims were admitted — one with critical injuries and one with serious injuries — while the other eight were released.
CHI Health St. Elizabeth said they also treated 10 victims, per KETV. Three of those patients were admitted, one of whom has since been discharged. The two others are in good condition. (PEOPLE has reached out to the hospitals for comment.)
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Officials said the Ford flipped over as a result of the crash and left two victims pinned underneath, per KETV. The victims were freed after bystanders worked together to flip the vehicle once more.
Taylor Arizola told the Journal Star he was one of the people to help lift the Ford off of the victims. He said he was in the Verizon store parking lot across the street from Barnes and Noble when he heard and saw the car driving out of control before hitting the Toyota.
"There were people running for their lives but getting rolled on by a car," he told the outlet. "I saw people's kneecaps hanging out, people laying on the ground not being able to move."
Many of the victims hit by the cars were located between the street and parking lot of the nearby Barnes and Noble store, Hubka said at an early morning press conference, per the Journal Star.
During a news conference Monday afternoon, Lincoln Police Chief Teresa Ewins said neither vehicle involved in the crash was part of the Americruise event, according to the Associated Press.
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"At the time of the collision there wasn't a lot of people out," Ewins said, per the outlet. "The cars were not flowing down [the] street as normal during this event."
One witness, Breeanna Shields, told KETV that she saw between 300 and 400 people "just watching the car show" on Sunday before the crash occurred.
An investigation into Sunday's crash is ongoing. The LPD said in Monday's Facebook post that it does not believe the crash was "an intentional act" and that there is no evidence to support such a theory.
"At this point we think we have a good idea of what occurred and we have everyone involved is in contact with officers," Hubka said, per KETV.
According to the Journal Star, authorities have reported some drivers tried to rile up crowds with dangerous tricks at the event in previous years. In July 2000, 39-year-old Connie McCullough died while trying to protect her children when a non-participating car drove off of O Street, the outlet reported.
Ewins said at Monday's press conference that dangerous driving around the event is "not acceptable" and promised "things will change."
"We'll be changing a lot of things in regards to people that are coming to Lincoln to cause havoc like that," she said, per the AP.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the LPD's non-emergency number at 402-441-6000 or Crime Stoppers at 402-475-3600.
The LPD has also asked that "anyone who witnessed this crash to come forward with any information they may have regarding this case, including video or photographic evidence."
"We will work tirelessly to determine what occurred and hold those responsible for this tragedy accountable," the department wrote in its Facebook post.
