Longtime resident not surprised stolen car went flying on Lancaster Drive

Some residents who live on Lancaster Drive weren’t surprised to hear a speeding 2012 Infiniti went airborne and burst into flames on Jan. 15.

A longtime resident said westbound vehicles will fly on the street and eastbound travelers drag the asphalt if they are going too fast, although the city’s Engineering Department wasn’t able to find any reported complaints on the two-lane street. The street isn’t level but rises at an angle with a higher elevation on the west end and lower on the east side.

Donna Newman, director of the Engineering Department for the Columbus Consolidated Government, looked over a photo of the stretch of roadway but didn’t spot anything that possibly contributed to the vehicle losing control and going airborne. “Typically, the primary cause for a vehicle to go airborne would be speed,” she said in a statement.

An emergency medical technician said the street is used as a cut through to Airport Thruway. Many motorists are exceeding the 25 mph speed limit in the neighborhood.

On the day of the crash, the technician said he was in his backyard in the 2100 block of Lancaster Drive when he heard a roaring engine. Rushing to the front yard, he saw the SUV going westbound at an extremely high rate of speed .

The vehicle jumped the curb, struck several crape myrtle trees and went out of control. It rotated clockwise until it struck a Georgia Power utility pole . The impact sent the SUV spinning counter clockwise before it flipped on its side in the 2200 block of Lancaster.

“If you look on the side of road you can see gouges where they land,” the technician said. “They are cutting through the neighborhood and don’t know what they are doing.”

Two occupants in the SUV escaped as fire engulfed the vehicle. Stolen three days before, the vehicle was destroyed in the crash.

A police sweep of the neighborhood was unsuccessful in rounding up the car thieves. A search is still underway for the suspects.

The neighborhood has been around since the mid 1960s, according to city records. If you’re cutting through the area to save time, you might want to slow down and obey the speed limit.

If you’ve seen something that needs attention, give me a call at 706-571-8576.