2 dead after car slams into scaffolding outside Queens school

JAMAICA HILLS (WABC) -- Two people were killed in a violent single-car crash early Sunday morning in Queens. The impact of the crash was so powerful that the vehicle burst into flames. The occupants likely never stood a chance of making it out alive.

In exclusive surveillance video obtained by Eyewitness News several emergency vehicles with their lights and sirens blaring, racing to what ended up being a catastrophic scene. Police believe speed was a factor.

The crash happened Sunday around 4:30 a.m. Authorities say a 2001 Nissan Maxima was heading eastbound on the Grand Central Parkway service road. For some reason, the driver lost control, and plowed head-on into scaffolding that now covers a section of Thomas Edison High School.

The impact was so severe that the car burst into flames, trapping the driver and passenger. Both were severely injured, and were killed in the crash.

"They're doing construction on the highway down there, so I thought it was construction - I didn't give it much thought," said Sharik Alam, who lives just across the LIE on the westbound service road, "sounded like something really hard hitting metal."

By the time fire and EMS crews got to the fully engulfed car, there was nothing they could do to save those inside.

There was a camera not far away from where the crash happened - it looks right down on a stretch of road where the speed limit is 30 miles per hour. At this point it is not clear if the system caught anything. If you follow the exact path the out-of-control vehicle took, there are no obvious skid marks.