GARY | A woman was killed and her son injured Wednesday when the SUV she was driving crossed an intersection, hit a light pole, slammed into a wooded area and lodged itself between trees, a witness reported.

Yolanda Gary, 52, of the 2300 block of West 19th Place, was identified as the driver of the vehicle, the Lake County coroner's office said. The cause of death was massive blunt force trauma, and Gary was pronounced dead at 3:44 p.m.

Gary's 17-year-old son was ejected from the car during the accident, which happened about 3:30 p.m. near the intersection of East 47th Avenue and Broadway. The teen was being treated Wednesday at a local hospital, the coroner's office said.

When the crash occurred, Gary resident Keilan Handford said he was in his car getting ready to turn right on Broadway near the Sun's clothing store on the corner of 47th Avenue and Broadway.

Handford, 23, said he was surprised at how fast the car was traveling northbound on Broadway.

He said soon after the car crossed the intersection, it hit a light pole on the southbound side of Broadway and ricocheted in between trees and landed in a wooded area. The black SUV had to be removed from in between the trees, shrubs and a metal gate. The impact stripped bark from the trees as high as 20 feet.

"The car was split like a book," Handford said. "I've never seen anything like that."

Gary resident Stafford Henderson, 50, also was in the area during the crash and said he heard a thud when the car landed on the ground.

Henderson said a man, whom Henderson believed was in the front passenger seat during the accident, walked away from the crash. Henderson said he went over to the car to help but saw that the driver was critically hurt.

"She was in a bad condition," Henderson said. "It was just terrible."

Police closed northbound and southbound lanes of Broadway near 47th Avenue while they were at the scene. After 6 p.m., the scene was cleared, and officers let traffic flow through the area. At least 50 people watched as crews cleared the wreckage and investigated the crash.

Gary police didn't return calls seeking information on the accident investigation.