Police believe drag racing cause of accident in College Hill

CINCINNATI - Drag racing may be to blame for a crash that sent one person to University Hospital Sunday evening.

Officer Kip Dunagan said this is the first time he's seen a drag racing accident this serious on the streets of Cincinnati.

Jymii Crawford, an employee at Rasheedah's Cafe in College Hill said he saw the aftermath of the accident.

"Basically, I heard an explosion sound, looked out the window and saw dust and it was two cars settling in the dust," he said.

Police believe two men were drag racing in the 5900 block of Hamilton Avenue before it came to an abrupt end.

"We have a couple of witnesses who were next to these two vehicles involved in the accident," Dunagan said. "They stated they heard some heckling, some horn blowing, some revving of engines, also witnessed both vehicles run a red light and take off at a high rate of speed."

Police believe a 2001 red Chevy Mustang and a lime green Crown Victoria were the culprits. The Mustang is the car police said lost control after it hit two parked cars, pushing one into the window of Liberty Income Tax.

"We went out there and we just seen airbags deployed on the car and the gentleman slumped over in his seat, driver's side," Crawford said.

Police believe he will just suffer injuries from the airbag. However, the man driving the Crown Victoria managed to avoid the crash.

"Someone could have been easily standing in front of store and gotten killed by the car going up on the sidewalk," Crawford said.

Police said drag racing is illegal to do on any public street. It is a violation of both Ohio and city municipal code.

The investigation is still in its preliminary stages.

The drivers of the Mustang and Crown Victoria will be cited for drag racing.

Other charges may come at a later time.