Four people are dead and one is in critical condition following a serious one-car crash in Portland overnight.
Pedro Duprey, 24, of Springfield; Ramon Ruiz, 30, of Hartford and Ivette Amaro, 42, of Springfield were declared dead on scene, according to police. Passenger Andrea Caraballo, 20, of Springfield was transported to Middlesex Hospital, where she was pronounced dead, police said.
Another passenger, 18-year-old Juniarys Caraballo of Springfield, was transported to Hartford Hospital via LifeStar and is in critical condition.
It happened early Saturday morning at the corner of Rose Hill Road and Cox Road when a Honda Civic with Massachusetts plates slammed into a metal guard rail and spun out of control, according to police.
Neighbors said the crash was so loud it jolted them from their sleep around 2:45 a.m.
"It was just kind of pieces of a car everywhere, and it honestly just looked like an accordion," said one witness, who asked only to be identified by Courtney. She lives at the bottom of the hill on Rose Hill Road, where the accident took place.
Emergency responders used Jaws of Life to extricate the passengers. LifeStar helicopters transported two patients, at least one to Hartford Hospital.
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"It was horrific just to see it and see what's going on," Courtney said, "trying to help people when you know you can't help them. It was very sad."
The road was blocked off in three different directions around the scene but has since reopened. Neighbors call it a dangerous stretch of road and said this isn't the first accident they've seen here.
"People drive really fast on this street," said Adrienne Clements, who lives nearby. "Really, really fast. We wish there were speed bumps. We have little kids. There are little kids around here and, you know... it's going to happen at some point."
Glastonbury fire officials and Middletown police provided mutual aid.
The scene was cleared around 9:30 a.m.
