Driver was critically injured in tractor-trailer crash in Charleston

A driver was critically injured Monday evening after crashing into the back of a tractor-trailer parked along Sharrotts Road in Charleston, police said.

The accident occurred shortly after after 6 p.m. near Carlin Street.

The man, at the wheel of a white Camaro convertible, was pinned in the car after crashing into the 18-wheeler, police said. Responding emergency personnel extricated him from the vehicle and transported him to Staten Island University Hospital, Ocean Breeze.

Police said the driver "accelerated hard" down the street, made a U-turn and sped back around on the wrong side of the road, crashing into the back of the truck. The driver was the only person involved in the crash, according to police.

"I heard the car peel off and then a loud bang when he crashed into the truck," said one resident, who declined to give his name.

Another neighbor described a similar scene: "I heard the screeching tires, and then a bang," said a woman who likewise refused to give her name.

Several residents who gathered outside following the crash complained that large trucks often park illegally along Sharrotts Road -- home to a mix of homes and wholesale businesses -- though they noted that other factors, such as speed and sun glare, likely played roles in Monday night's crash.

"You can see the the skid marks on the road," another neighbor pointed out, adding, "The sun probably had a lot to do with it, too."

"People speed down here all the time," another neighbor said.

Police could not say what caused the crash.