A speeding vehicle going the wrong way caused an eight car collision and pile up in Chicago and caused the death of two people last Wednesday evening. 

Sixteen people were injured in the massive accident at East 87th Street and South Cottage Grove Avenue.

A Chicago Fire Department spokesperson said that at least 10 ambulances arrived along with paramedics to help the injured people at the crash scene.

Two people were declared dead at the scene of the high-speed crash. One car burst into flames and flipped over. 

David Brown, the Chicago Police Superintendent, spoke to reporters on Wednesday night, and said the vehicle that caused the accident was a black Dodge Charger racing at high speed on the wrong side of the road before it crashed into other vehicles and burst into a ball of fire.

According to Superintendent Brown, the high speed vehicle had been reported stolen earlier that day in Markham. The police found a gun in the back of the car, and its two occupants, who had stolen the car, were the two people who died in the fire.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Superintendent Brown spoke at a press conference while the wreckage of the vehicles was still at the intersection. Bystanders watched as a pile of six vehicles were positioned on top of each other, with one car flipped and two more badly damaged vehicles nearby.

Brown said the senseless tragedy could have been avoided if the vehicle hadn’t been speeding.

Children were among the injured people, with seven children and nine adults being transported to the hospital.

On Thursday morning, police said the injuries ranged from fractured wrists to body pain, with most of the injured in good condition.

All the injured were in their vehicles at the time of the collisions, except for a 54-year-old man, who was on the sidewalk. He suffered a dislocated kneecap.

The Police Superintendent urged people to avoid speeding, adding that it was the leading cause of over 100 fatalities caused by traffic accidents in Chicago this year.

Mayor Lightfoot said that speeding had become a big problem in Chicago and that police need to get more aggressive, arrest people and lock them up. She fears for pedestrians and road users who could potentially lose their lives because of speeding.