Two Cars Crash Into Springs Neighborhood In Bizarre Pursuit

COLORADO SPRINGS – Police are trying to determine whether two women were racing or chasing one another when their cars crashed in a southeast side neighborhood around 2:45 a.m. Tuesday. The unidentified drivers were treated for minor injuries at Memorial Hospital.

The wrecks happened at the intersection of Chelton Road and Marlow Court. One vehicle smashed through a chain link fence, tore off the lower corner of a house, and broke through several wooden fences–barely missing two more houses. Part of the damaged house landed on a roof. The impact also broke a gas line to the damaged home. Authorities evacuated several families while inspecting the line. A light pole was knocked down, as well.

Elvie Finks lives in the damaged home. “I was lucky,” she says. “Me and my grand kids usually sleep downstairs. Last night, we slept upstairs.”

Finks says she felt and heard the impact. “I heard this guy saying Get out of the car! Hurry up! I ran to the kitchen to see if they’d knocked my fence down, and that’s when I heard and smelled the gas.” She fled with her young grandchildren to a neighbor’s house.

The second car crashed and came to a stop on Chelton. A witness says a passenger also was in that vehicle. Neighbor Johnathan Fay says he saw one of the cars driving through his yard. That car apparentlycaused most of the damage. “The lady that was in it, said something about someone shooting at her, and she just bolted off.” Fay says the woman was bleeding, and paused to lock the door before she fled. He also says a witness told him both cars ran the red light at Jet Wing Drive before the crash.

Police found the driver around 6 a.m., after she apparently walked to a friend’s home near Moreno Avenue and Prospect Street. The friend called police. She declined to comment to NEWSCHANNEL 13about the situation.

Repair crews boarded-up the damaged home, and temporarily cut off gas and water service to it. Finks plans to stay with friends, and also talked about moving out of town because several vehicles have wrecked recently on a curve along her yard. She showed where she installed metal poles to support her wooden fence as protection from another crash.

Police do not suspect alcohol to be afactor in the accident. They also did not confirm a report that one of the drivers stabbed herself during the incident. However, police say they’re investigating an earlierdisturbance possibly involving the drivers.