LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Two people were killed and 20 others were injured after a crash that sent two cars careening into a crowd of bystanders while an annual Memorial Day weekend “cruise” night was wrapping up in Nebraska’s capital, police said Monday.
Two women, ages 20 and 22, had been inside one of the cars and died in the Sunday night crash on O Street in Lincoln. Of the injured bystanders, one person was listed in critical condition and the others were treated at hospitals for injuries not believed to be life-threatening, police said.
“We do not believe nor is there any evidence this was an intentional act,” Lincoln police said in a statement.
林肯警察局局长特雷莎·埃温（Teresa Ewins）在周一下午的新闻发布会上说，撞车事故的两辆车都没有参加自1990年代初以来一直在城市举行的“美国人”活动。她说，这是一场可能随时发生的碰撞。
“At the time of the collision there wasn’t a lot of people out,” Ewins said. “The cars were not flowing down street as normal during this event.”
Police said the crash happened when a 18-year-old Omaha man driving a black Ford Taurus traveling westbound on O Street struck a white Toyota Corolla that was “facing” eastbound. The women, both in the Corolla, were pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the Taurus was taken to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries, police said.
The impact drove both vehicles onto the sidewalk. The Taurus had rolled over onto its top, trapping two victims who were rescued by bystanders who pushed the car back on its wheels.
O Street has been a popular spot for cruisers over the Memorial Day weekend and thousands of spectators have gathered at times to watch from business parking lots. However, authorities say some drivers have attempted dangerous maneuvers to excite the crowd, such as burnouts and speeding, and law enforcement had an increased presence this year, theLincoln Journal Star reported.
“We’ll be changing a lot of things in regards to people that are coming to Lincoln to cause havoc like that,” Ewins said, referring to the extracurricular activity as sideshows. “It’s not acceptable. And yes, things will change.”
A spectator was killed at the event in July 2000 when a non-participant car veered off O Street and hit 39-year-old Connie McCullough. She died shielding her children.
