The driver of a blue BMW sped through the intersection at Regent St. and Monroe St., crashing into several objects before slamming into a tree and fleeing the scene early Friday morning.
According to a Madison Police Department incident report, a witness estimated the car was traveling about 80 mph as it approached the intersection. Once the car went airborne, the driver lost control and took out a fire hydrant.
The severed hydrant began gushing water into the street and a piece of the hydrant flew through a nearby window in the 1600 block of Regent St.
As the hydrant filled the intersection with water, the momentum of the car carried it down to the intersection of Regent St. and N. Breese Terrace, where it knocked over a traffic signal.
The impact sent the car spiraling out of control and pieces of the BMW began breaking off of the car. Projectiles flew through the air, damaging a nearby parked car and leaving behind an “extensive debris field” in its wake.
Ultimately, the car came to rest as it slammed into a tree.
Another witness said he felt his house shake and heard a loud crash into a tree. The 20-year-old resident rushed outside to administer aid to the driver.
He saw two men among the wreckage, the driver still in the seat of the demolished car and another man standing nearby the passenger door. Acting as a Good Samaritan, the nearby resident pulled the driver out of the car before flames fully enveloped the engine.
The witness told police the driver was saying something about not being able to “talk to cops” as he ran off, unbalanced and falling down.
Concerned that the driver may be injured, the police sent a K9 to track him down, but were unable to locate him. Police are also uncertain who the other man seen next to the car was, whether he was a passenger in the car or where he left in the chaos of the moment.
MPD spokesperson Joel Despain said the driver of the vehicle was not the owner, and the owner was cooperating with the police to locate the driver.
The investigation remains ongoing.
