Drive Killed After Car Bursts Into Flames In East Utica Crash

UPDATE: 3/10 (10:42 a.m.)- Utica Police have identified the victim as 65-year old Joseph Suppa of Utica.

Update: March 10, 2021 (12:04 p.m.) - Utica Police officials now say the driver involved in this accident has died from his injuries. Police say they'll release the victim's name once family has been notified.

A man is in critical condition at an area hospital following a terrifying car accident in the City of Utica.

Officials with the Utica Police Department say an officer was called to the intersection of Albany Street and South Park Drive on the east side of the city at approximately 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. When they arrived, officers say a vehicle that had driven into a wooded area was fully engulfed in flames.

Officials say soon after police arrived, the Utica Fire Department arrived on scene and it was learned the male driver was trapped inside the burning car. Because of the urgency to get the driver out of the vehicle as quick as possible the Utica Police Patrolman operated the fire hose to try to extinguish the blaze while fire crews worked to remove the driver from the vehicle.

Officials say eventually additional fire personnel arrived on scene and amazingly freed the man from the car and rushed him to St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Utica. Life saving measures were conducted on the driver and he is currently listed in critical, but stable condition.

Utica Police officials want to thank and congratulate their brothers and sisters of the Utica Fire Department for their quick action and heroism. Without their quick actions to save a man from a burning vehicle, the outcome could have been truly tragic. UPD officials also want to thank the medical staff at St. Elizabeth's and the responding officer who took action to assist the Utica Fire Department. Officials with the Utica Police are looking into the events and circumstances surrounding the accident.