MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Two people are dead following a major crash near the intersection of Getwell Road and Elliston Street in East Memphis Tuesday morning, shutting down roads in the area.
Memphis Police Department officials said their officers responded to the crash around 3:39 a.m. Oct. 8, 2024, where they found a car overturned into a ditch. One person died at the scene. Another was taken to St. Francis Hospital in critical condition, where they later died.
Surveillance video from a nearby business acquired by ABC24 showed a head-on collision on Getwell Road as one car was attempting to turn. A second car hit the first one, which went airborne before landing in a nearby drainage ditch.
Video from a witness showed people climbing down into a ditch to reach those trapped in a vehicle that ended up upside down following the crash.
According to one witness, he was sitting at the intersection when a car sped through at a high rate of speed. The collision sent the struck car into a nearby drainage ditch.
“It was a green light for us, but I saw the car coming, so I stopped,” the witness said. “The other car didn’t, and he tried to turn, but the car hit him, took him airborne, and it was a disaster, man.”
MPD said the driver of the second car did not remain on the scene.
It is unclear if anyone has been ticketed or arrested in connection with the crash.
Earlier this year, dangerous driving appeared to be a big priority for MPD, the department released a PSA in May for the Brake It Down Campaign, denouncing actions like speeding or drag racing, while promising swift action for those who commit it.
“You’ll lose your car... Because it’ll be destroyed or we’ll take it,” said CJ Davis, Interim Chief of MPD and Col. Matt Perry from the Tennessee Highway Patrol respectively.
When ABC24 asked if the PSA has yielded results, an MPD spokesperson said they did not have that data on hand. However, according to the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security, both crashes and traffic fatalities decreased the two months following the ad's release, before they both increased again in August.
It is not clear whether either of these numbers were directly linked to the PSA, since the decrease also follows a similar annual pattern to years past.
At the moment the MPD spokesperson said no new driving safety campaign was currently underway.