A vintage Shelby Cobra Mustang wrecked at the corner of Broadway and Enos the afternoon of Nov. 14, seriously injuring the driver and a pedestrian, creating a scene that backed up traffic in all directions.
The accident drew dozens of people with smartphones in hand, who recorded the events as they unfolded. A blue Mustang with white stripes was embedded into a light pole, an orange helicopter was parked in the middle of the intersection, and safety personnel moved around the accident scene.
The emergency call came in at 2:52 p.m., according to Santa Maria Police Sgt. Russ Mengel, after a 1967 Mustang wrapped itself around a light pole in front of the El Toro Restaurant sign. Sandhya Patel was sitting inside of the JDX Pharmacy across the street when she heard the crash and dialed 911. She said the impact was hard enough to cause the horn to go off and stick. The car was nearly cut in half.
“How do you end up with a pole in the middle of your car?” she asked.
Patel witnessed passersby attempt to pull the driver out of the vehicle.
The driver, Michael Williamson, was pulled from his car by rescuers using a hydraulic cutting tool, or “jaws of life,” and airlifted to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital via helicopter where he was treated for head injuries.
The cause of the accident is still under investigation. According a press release from the Santa Maria Police Department, witnesses heard the Mustang accelerate toward the intersection where it struck a silver Cadillac driven by Margaret Casey, who was turning westbound onto Enos from the left turn lane on Broadway. Casey was uninjured. It’s not clear if either Williamson or Casey were cited in the accident.
Mengel said a nearby pedestrian, injured from being struck by flying debris, was transported via ambulance to a local hospital.
This article appears in Nov 20-27, 2014.