LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A person is dead and a building is damaged after a significant incident happened in Old Louisville on Friday.
Around 6:25 p.m., Louisville Metro Police were called to a vehicle collision that happened on Oak Street. When they arrived they found a car and a tree on fire.
Police said that fire then spread to a building on 2nd and Oak Streets.
"I looked and [the fire] started getting bigger and bigger and then I heard a big pop," said Terrie Simpson. She was at home at the time of the crash.
First responders quickly evacuated the building, and authorities said no casualties inside the building have been reported at this time.
Quinton Carr and his girlfriend were sitting inside the restaurant by the window when it happened.
"You could feel like through the air there was like vibration, stuff was thrown up against the window; I guess tree bark or something," Carr said.
LMPD said their preliminary investigation revealed the car was traveling fast and heading east on Oak in the westbound lanes when it then hit a parked car and the tree.
Police said the occupant in the car that hit the tree died at the scene. It's unclear if they were the only person in the vehicle at this time.
"[Firefighters] got up to that second floor to make sure that the fire didn't spread any further, got in through the roof as well, took 40 minutes for the firefighters to get the fire under control," said Louisville Fire Chief Brian O'Neill. He said one firefighter was taken to the hospital, but they are expected to survive.
Renshoku Ramen, which is on the first floor of the building, said on social media that it was closed until further notice due to the fire.
The apartment above the restaurant also sustained damage, leaving those residents displaced.
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