First reported by Al.com

Witnesses said a man made three attempts to slam his car into a light pole at Rainbow Plaza in Rainbow City this morning before striking it.

A man was airlifted from the parking lot of Rainbow Plaza shortly after the incident, which occurred around 10:45 a.m.

Construction workers at nearby Center Stage were on the job when they saw the man driving a two-door vehicle sitting in the parking lot with his engine idling.

“We didn’t know what he was doing, he was just sitting there,” said Aaron Young, one of the men working. “Then, he backs up and takes off.”

Young, and his coworker Fred Swain, watched the vehicle gun its engine heading for a light pole in the lot. At the last minute, the driver swerved out of the way.

“He would jerk the car out of the way at the last minute,” Swain said. “He did it from the other way, and then the last time he hit it.”

Swain and Young said they ran to the car after the collision and the man said he was trying to kill himself.

“His first words when we got to him were ‘Kill me. I want to die,'” Swain said.

The man was airlifted to a hospital. Rainbow City police are investigating.