Police say the drag racing that occurred on Green Street Monday night leading to a woman’s death was a happenstance occurrence.
“The Mustang pulled up (to the light). He revved his engine. She revved her engine, and they took off from there,” said Sgt. Bill Russell, the public information officer for the Henderson Police Department.
Moments later, Kelly Green, a 46-year-old Evansville woman, was dead.
A police release on Facebook said the race started at the stoplight at the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and Green Street.
The man in the Mustang, driving in the far-right lane, sped in front of Green, who was driving a Dodge Challenger, and then the man swerved into the passing lane to get around a car in front of him, Russell said.
Green then swerved into oncoming traffic and collided head on with a Chrysler Sebring, he said.
The crash occurred about 8:15 p.m. Monday in the Taco Bell/McDonald’s area of Green Street.
Initially five people were reported as injured. All five were taken to Deaconess Henderson hospital.
Green was later transported to Deaconess Midtown where she died.
Russell described the other injuries as not life threatening, such as neck or back pain.
There was one person in the Challenger with Green, and three people in the Sebring, Russell said.
The man in the Mustang was uninjured. According to a police news release, he came back to the scene to give a statement.
Russell said his name has not been released by police.
Detectives continue to piece together information on the incident. Russell said they are still interviewing witnesses and have looked at a video from Taco Bell.
Henderson Fire Department units arrived at the scene and extricated the people from the wreckage, Russell said.
