Two people hurt in one-car Bartlett crash

Two people were taken to Sherman Hospital in Elgin after a one-car crash Sunday afternoon in Bartlett.

Bartlett fire Battalion Chief Ralph DeFreece said the accident occurred about 1:30 p.m. on Lake Street, about a quarter-mile east of Naperville Road.

DeFreece said a four-door Pontiac Grand Am headed west left the road and hit a pole sideways on the driver's side.

The driver and passenger were transported to Sherman. Damage to the car was extensive, DeFreece said. "The car was pretty mangled."

He said traffic was blocked while the pole was being repaired.

Police are investigating the accident.

A witness, Bartlett resident James Taylor, said his Chevy Venture van, which was headed east on Lake Street, was hit on the driver's-side door by a tire from the Pontiac.

Taylor said he saw the Pontiac leave the road.

"It was a green flash, basically. Essentially, it looked like he went airborne and just smashed into the telephone pole there.

"When he hit the telephone pole, he hit with such impact that one of his tires flew across the lanes and hit my car."

Taylor said he pulled into a nearby lot and returned to the accident scene. At that point, he said the driver, a man, was conscious, while the passenger, a woman, was unconscious. He said she later regained consciousness before paramedics arrived.

"He basically unhooked himself from the driver's seat, I grabbed him and helped him get down onto the ground."

Taylor said the driver had blood on his head, adding that the passenger appeared to have a head injury. Both, he said, seemed to have been wearing seat belts.