Car flies over canal and fence into backyard of Central Fresno home, 1 man killed and 1 hospitalized

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A 2009 Honda Accord is now just a mangled mess of metal after flying nearly half a football field in the air before landing on its roof in the backyard of a family's home.

"As it traveled across all four lanes of McKinley, it struck the canal bank on the south side of McKinley, and launched that vehicle into the air," said Captain Mike Reid, Fresno Police.

Two men were pinned inside the car. Fresno firefighters had to use special equipment to get them out. The driver, 26-year-old, Phalahn Lor died on impact while his 25-year-old passenger remains hospitalized in critical but stable condition.

According to police the car blew the red light at the McKinley off-ramp from the 168 and hit the embankment going around 80 miles per hour without ever applying the brakes.

"There are power lines above it, there is a six-foot high fence below it, so that car squeezed in between those two things still going up, because into the yard it hit a tree about 12 feet high," said Mike Reid, Fresno Police.

That tree most likely saved the family. Amazingly the only major damage suffered was to the Honda. The house was not hit and the car came to a crashing stop just inches away from a young child's bedroom.

"A lot of things had to work together for this car not to hit the house. Fortunately, no one else was injured, but if it wasn't for that tree slowing it down and rolling it over into the backyard, it might've ended up into the roofline of that house," said Mike Reid, Fresno Police.

We still don't know if drugs or alcohol played a role in the crash as police continue to investigate the case.