BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — On Thursday morning, a vehicle crashed into the monument at Niagara Square in downtown Buffalo.

Just before 7:30 a.m., police say the black minivan was moving south on Delaware Ave. “at an extremely high rate of speed” before it crashed into the monument. Marble barriers were knocked down.

The male driver is in critical condition at ECMC, but the female passenger was pronounced dead at the scene.

Buffalo Police Captain Jeff Rinaldo says this is a first for him. A criminal investigation is ongoing, and officers are looking for any eyewitnesses who may have seen the vehicle before it crashed.

Rinaldo says police will be on scene for “many hours,” so people are being asked to avoid the area.