2 people aid driver after crash

Two unsuspecting people ran to assist a driver after they heard a crashing sound in the borough Tuesday, officials said.

Downingtown police responded on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. to the 200 block of Chestnut Street for a report of serious car accident. Prior to police arrival, the sole occupant had been removed from the vehicle. The driver was treated by medical personnel on scene and refused further treatment.

Police on Thursday said that the vehicle had ended up on its driver’s side after it struck a gas line in front of Marinelli Park.

PECO was notified about the damaged gas line and nearby homes were evacuated as a precaution. Police had detoured traffic in the area away from the damaged gas line. Police also notified the Downingtown Area School District because students were being dismissed around the time of the crash.

When police asked the driver what caused the crash, the driver advised he traveled northbound on Chestnut Street when “something wasn’t right” and then he crashed, according to the police report. The driver told police the next thing he remembered was being helped out of his vehicle.

Police spoke to Anthony Castaldi and David Wilson, who said they were in the backyard of a home in the 200 block of Chestnut Street when they heard the crash and ran to the front yard where they saw the car flip onto its side. After the vehicle came to a rest, they told police they realized that the vehicle had struck a gas line and that’s when they ran over and removed the driver, according to the police report. A witness in another vehicle told police that she saw the vehicle in front of her suddenly veered to the left and went off the roadway, according to the police report.

Police said after further investigation that it appeared that the vehicle had initially hit the bridge rail, in the area where the front bumper was found, before it flipped and hit the gas line.

The vehicle was towed after PECO deemed the area was safe.