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Driver dead after hitting tree in Detroit
Early Sunday morning, a driver slammed into a tree near a gas station in Detroit. Security footage showed motorists and other community members coming to the rescue - but it was too late to help the driver. An autopsy is still pending and it's unclear what led up to the crash.
DETROIT (FOX 2) - The reason behind the fatal crash in Detroit that left one dead Sunday morning are still unknown.
But for one of the good Samaritans that responded to the scene, it's left him with a new outlook on life.
"Cherish your people. Cherish your people while you can," said Michal Greer.
Greer works as the manager of Lou's Deli near Seven Mile and Huntington in Detroit. Around 10 a.m., he was getting ready for another busy day when a noise he described as an explosion caught his attention.
It sounded like something had come into the building, based on the sound.
"When I ran out here, it was the car wrapped around the tree," said Greer.
Security footage of the wreck tells more of the story, showing a Ford Flex driving straight into a tree outside the deli. The vehicle had pulled out at a high rate of speed before striking the tree seconds later.
From there, motorists and other community members ran to help the driver. That included Greer.
"We all were trying to bust the window to try to get him out," he said. "It was really terrible, messed-up, cause I never seen nothing like that."
Flames then began to spread from the engine and into the vehicle.
"You couldn’t see because it was a bunch of smoke. And then the engine was inside the car so you couldn’t see nothing," said Greer. "Couldn’t do nothing at the end of the day. It was too late."
Detroit police say the incident remains under investigation.
The Wayne County Medical Examiner's Office is also awaiting the results of an autopsy.