SUV crashes through Southbridge martial arts studio, into river 30 feet below
Updated: 11:15 PM EDT Jun 5, 2023
SOUTHBRIDGE, Mass. —
A Massachusetts man is in critical condition after his vehicle crashed through a martial arts studio, down a steep embankment and into a river in Southbridge, according to authorities.
Southbridge police Chief Shane Woodson said the crash happened at about 1:40 p.m. Monday at 179 River St., the address for the Arvelo Martial Arts Academy, which is on the corner of River and Pleasant streets.
First responders found a burning black Ford Edge SUV submerged in the McKinstry Brook River and an unconscious man who had been ejected from the vehicle lying on the river embankment.
Police officers and firefighters removed the man from the embankment, and paramedics then immediately began providing emergency care.
The victim, a 34-year-old Southbridge man, was transported by ambulance to UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, where he was in critical condition as of Monday night, according to Woodson.
After interviewing witnesses and reviewing video surveillance in the area, Woodson said investigators were able to determine that the SUV was traveling south on Pleasant Street at a high rate of speed and then traveled through the intersection where Pleasant Street meets River and Walcott streets before crashing into a garage door at the Arvelo Martial Arts Academy.
The police chief said the vehicle continued to travel through a studio in the martial arts academy and crashed through the back side of the building before eventually coming to a rest in the river, which is approximately 30 feet down from the martial arts academy. The SUV burst into flames after it wound up in the river, and firefighters were able to quickly extinguish the flames.
There were no visible skid marks or any other evidence that the driver of the SUV attempted to use his brakes, which, according to Woodson, indicates the driver may have been experiencing a medical emergency at the time of the crash.
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A black Ford Edge SUV is lifted up from a ravine after it crashed through the Arvelo Marital Arts Academy and into the McKinstry Brook river in Southbridge, Massachusetts, on June 5, 2023.
Neighbors told NewsCenter 5 reporter Shaun Chaiyabhat that speeding has led to multiple crashes at the intersection of Pleasant, River and Walcott streets, and that they have posted their own sign that warns drivers to slow down.
"I'm thinking about starting a petition to get City Hall to put a stop sign in," said Southbridge resident Katlyne Parslow.
Woodson said there was no one inside the Arvelo Martial Arts Academy at the time of the crash and that there were no other injuries reported at the scene.
The crash is being investigated by the Southbridge Police Department and the Massachusetts State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section.
