Car Crashes Into Apartment Building Above 3rd Floor

[catlover79]

http://www.fox8.com/news/wjw-news-wi...,3058876.story

FOX8.com Staff Writer
9:26 PM EDT, April 21, 2010

WILLOWICK, Ohio - A spokesperson for the Willowick Police Department tells Fox 8 News that a driver was killed early Wednesday morning when the vehicle he was operating went airborne and crashed into the side of an apartment building, between the third and fourth floors.

The accident occurred at approximately 12:30 a.m.

Authorities say the car was heading westbound on Vine Street at an extremely high rate of speed. Shortly after exiting at Lake Shore Boulevard, the vehicle hit an embankment in the Shoregate Towers parking lot, sending it roughly 170 feet into the air. That's when it struck, in midair, the south side of the east apartment building above the third floor.

The motorist, an unidentified 26-year-old man from Mentor, was already dead by the time emergency crews arrived at the scene. There was a small car fire, but it's almost certain that the driver died from impact. He was the only person in the vehicle.

Despite leaving a noticeable mark, there was no structural damage to the building.

The crash remains under investigation. The Cuyahoga County Coroner's Office will conduct an autopsy Wednesday to determine an official cause of death.

Stick with Fox 8 News and FOX8.com for more information on this story as it becomes available.

[catlover79]

I live not too far away from these apartments, so I know this area very well. Click on the above link to see the videos. It is a MIRACLE no one else got hurt and that the structural damage was relatively minimal. Angels were sure surrounding that complex!!

[MickeyMac]

yikes!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Janice]

That car had to be flying, and I literally mean flying.

[catlover79]

Here's the map of the location. I tried to post the picture here but it was too big. So here's the link.

http://www.mapquest.com/maps?name=Sh...SS&id=22596194

[catlover79]

Here's our local newspaper's report of the incident - they interviewed a couple of tenants.

http://www.news-herald.com/articles/...0925052385.txt

By Nick Carrabine
NCarrabine@News-Herald.com

Doris Simpson said the noise was so loud Wednesday morning that she and her fiance got out of bed and hid in a closet.

She was convinced that either a bomb had just gone off or someone was in the Shoregate Towers parking lot in Willowick shooting a gun.

The noise, which hundreds of Shoregate Towers residents heard Wednesday about 12:30 a.m., was Carmen Ritacco’s 2005 Chevrolet Malibu colliding with the third floor of the East building of the apartment complex.

Ritacco, 26, of Mentor, was pronounced dead at the scene, Willowick police said.

The victim was traveling west on Vine Street at an extremely high rate of speed — an estimated 92 mph minimum — and then exited the roadway just north of Lake Shore Boulevard, according to police.

The vehicle continued off the roadway where it hit a mound in front of Shoregate Towers and struck the apartment complex building between the third and fourth floors.

It is estimated that the vehicle was traveling in the air for 173 feet before striking the building, police said.

The vehicle bounced off the building and came to rest in the east building parking lot.

Willowick Police Chief Michael Lazor said the car was crushed by the impact. The car is thought to have rotated in the air, so its hood hit the building even though it landed on its tires. An indentation from the impact is visible on the apartment building, Lazor said.

Ritacco was the only occupant of the vehicle and no other injuries occurred to any other driver on the roadway, nor were there injuries to any occupants of the apartment building.

“This is a tragedy, but we’re lucky nobody else was hurt. Going that speed on Vine Street at that time of night — someone easily could have been hit coming out of a parking lot,” Lazor said.

Willowick Fire Chief Mark Slavick said a third-floor apartment unit suffered damage in the bathroom, but currently no one is living in that apartment.

No cars in the parking lot were damaged, Slavick said.

Residents had no idea what the loud bang was until they walked outside to investigate the commotion.

“I’m shocked,” Simpson, who lives on the seventh floor, said. “I thought the building was about to shake loose. It was so loud. Everyone was shook up last night.”

Maryanne Schumacher, resident in the East building, said she was in disbelief at how high the vehicle got.

“I saw how high it was and said to myself ‘God, how did it get all the way up there?’ ” she said. “He must have really been moving.”

Lionel Tisdale, who lives in the West building said he was watching TV when the crash occurred.

“It was a big boom, like a cannon,” he said. “It’s shocking. I hope he is in a better place. I’m a Christian man. I said a few prayers for him last night and this morning. Anytime someone loses their life, it’s sad.”

Ritacco was convicted of operating a vehicle while under the influence in 2009. However, police said it is too early to tell whether drugs or alcohol played a part in the crash.

The autopsy is being handled by the Cuyahoga County Coroner’s Office. Lazor said it would likely take a few weeks before any toxicology tests are completed.

The crash is still under investigation, with assistance coming from traffic accident reconstruction specialists with the Eastlake Police Department.

Lazor said Ritacco’s intentions may never be revealed.

“I don’t think we’ll ever know,” he said. “It’s a possibility it was a suicide attempt. It could have been alcohol or drug-related. It could have been rage or it could have been accidental.”

Lazor has asked nearby businesses to provide surveillance tapes from Wednesday morning. However, he said it’s unlikely any of the cameras would have the collision on tape because of the angle.

[Ohio8]

Here are pics of the buildings.

[catlover79]

Those are really nice shots. Plus, across the street there's a supermarket, restaurants, urgent care, and right down the street is the fire station - so it's very centrally located!!!

[Janice Johnson]

WHAT THE HELL? A CAR went into a 3rd floor building! Now,, I've read EVERYTHING!

[catlover79]

I think he must have gone to the Dukes of Hazzard driving school!!