FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) – Investigators are trying to determine if a fatal multi-car crash near Fort Lauderdale was caused by a police chase.

The fatal multi-vehicle crash that killed two women occurred around 4 p.m. Sunday near Fort Lauderdale at the corner of NW 27th Avenue and Sixth Street.

Trumane Simpson and his friend Tony Cole told 7News they saw the crash, which involved a black Dodge Durango, a white Tesla and reportedly an unmarked police vehicle.

The front of the Tesla was destroyed and the windshield was blown out. The Durango sustained significant damage to the sides. The third vehicle, which witnesses believe was the unmarked police vehicle, was seen lying upside down on its roof in the middle of the road.

Simpson and Cole said they were desperately trying to rescue the three women in the Durango.

“The lady I prayed with, I don’t even see in her sleep now, only during the day,” Simpson said.

For the three women in Durango, the situation was desperate.

“The girl was hanging on the driver’s side because we couldn’t get to the passenger side. So we went to the driver’s side. She was hanging there,” Simpson said.

“I told her, ‘Don’t talk, don’t talk, I’m going to get your friends out of the car, we’re going to get your girl out of the car,'” Cole said.

“It was terrible,” Simpson said.

Two of the women in that car, identified as Lisa Jackson and Geraldine Francis, did not survive.

The driver of the Tesla, 19-year-old Gavin Dorvil, was taken to the hospital. His condition remains unknown.

A third victim is in critical condition.

Simpson and Cole said they saw the Tesla traveling west on NW 27th Avenue and believed it was being pursued at a high rate of speed by the suspected unmarked police vehicle.

“The white car was going too fast. So when we see a car, we know it’s an undercover cop, we just know that,” Simpson said. “No siren, no lights, come on, man.”

On Tuesday, the Broward Sheriff’s Office confirmed that internal investigators are trying to determine whether BSO units were pursuing the Tesla before the crash.

BSO added that a weapon was found in the Tesla.

“I guess I don’t know whose fault it was, but if it was illegal, then it’s the officer’s fault,” Simpson said.

Internal Affairs has not yet confirmed whether a police chase took place and whether it was authorized.

Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.