A nasty collision in downtown St. John's has resulted in the death of an elderly woman, and an entire block being closed to traffic while police clean up the scene.

At least three vehicles were involved in the wreck, which happened near the intersection of Duckworth Street and Cathedral Street, in front of India Gate Restaurant.

Witnesses described a white vehicle tearing down Duckworth Street, careening off cars along the side of the road. Police say the 84-year-old driver has been pronounced dead.

The vehicle came to a stop after colliding head-on with another SUV, spinning out of control and striking India Gate.

An 84-year-old woman was pronounced dead after a high speed crash on Duckworth Street. (Bruce Tilley/CBC)

Mark Pardy and Marek Nakonieczny had just parked when they saw the vehicle speed past them.

"We instantly started kind of following it because you knew there was going to be an impact," Nakonieczny said. "We both took our phones and we both called 911."

The speeding vehicle came to a stop after colliding head-on with this car outside India Gate on Duckworth Street. (Bruce Tilley/CBC)

Neither could get through to an operator, however, as multiple people nearby were also scrambling to phone it in.

"A busy working day like this on a Monday, you have people crossing all around the roads, cars everywhere," Pardy said. "So it's lucky that more people weren't injured."

The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary shut down the whole block, from Prescott Street to Church Hill. Three vehicles remained in the street, one covered in a tarp, with debris all over the road.

Breaking: serious <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/nltraffic?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#nltraffic</a> incident on Duckworth Street in St. John’s. Witness says a car was racing down the street before crashing into several vehicles, and spinning into India Gate.<a href="https://twitter.com/CBCNL?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CBCNL</a> <a href="https://t.co/ySBu9r1g17">pic.twitter.com/ySBu9r1g17</a> —@zachgoudie

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