Car crashes into South Side park leaving mess behind & raising safety concerns

PITTSBURGH — Several South Side neighbors spent part of their Sunday afternoon cleaning up the damage left behind by a crash at Ormsby Park on S. 22nd Street.

Exclusive cell phone video showed the car partially off the ground as it hit a concrete barrier in front of the park right after crashing through it Saturday night. Car parts were scattered in the street and park’s entrance.

“It sounded like a boom and a crunch,” said Jill Hackney, who lives across the street from the park.

She said she heard the crash around 10:15 p.m. Saturday, then ran outside and called 911.

“I saw a white car,” Hackney said. “He gets back in the car with all the airbags already deployed, and he turns the car around and I’m just terrified. He hits this right here and the car this side of the car just went up into the air.”

Kacey Lopes was visiting her girlfriend when they heard a loud bang and shot the cell video from their window.

“My girlfriend asked, ‘Hey, are you OK?’ and he said he was fine,” Lopes said.

The driver didn’t get too far from the park. The car stopped in the middle of 22nd and Sidney streets before witnesses saw him being handcuffed by Pittsburgh police.

Families who come to the busy South Side park said the intersection is dangerous.

Claire Pro and her husband Mike bring their 5-year-old daughter to the park almost every day. Pro, who heads South Side Kids, said she’s been pushing for lighting and a fence at the park for the last three years to keep people safe. She said plastic, reflective poles were put in last month but it’s not enough.

“This intersection causes such a problem because cars just plow through stop signs. It’s not well-lit at nighttime,” Pro said. “We’ve had cars spinning donuts in the park.”

By Sunday afternoon, a dozen volunteers who live on the South Side came together with shovels and brooms in hand to clean up the mess.

Sarah Cinq-Mars, who volunteers with South Side Block Watch, organized the cleanup effort.

“The neighborhood really answered my call on Facebook to come help out and clean up, and it was really impressive to see people come together,” said Cinq-Mars.

No one was hurt in the crash.

Channel 11 reached out to police to see if the driver was speeding and if he’ll face any charges. We are waiting to hear back.

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