Five children aged between 8 and 17 were killed in a fiery crash after the SUV they were traveling in veered off a New York highway and into a tree on Sunday morning,police said.
A statement fromWestchester County Policesaid a 16-year-old boy was believed to be driving the Nissan Rogue when it crashed on the Hutchinson River Parkway in Scarsdale about 12:20 a.m. local time. The SUV caught fire after it hit a tree and no other vehicles were involved.
The sole survivor was a boy, 9, who was apparently riding in the hatchback area and managed to escape through the rear of the vehicle. The boy was taken toWestchester Medical Centerin Valhalla with non-life-threatening injuries.
Malik Smith, the 16-year-old driver, and passengers Anthony Billips Jr., 17, Zahnyiah Cross, Shawnell Cross, 11, and 8-year-old Andrew Billips died in the crash, authorities said,according to ABC 7.
“They wasn’t cousins, they were more brothers. Brothers and sisters, that’s how close they are,” the driver’s father, whose name is also Malik Smith,told CBS 2.
New York highway crash scene.Eyewitness News ABC7NY/Youtube
Smith also said his son did not have a permit to drive. Asked whether Smith knew his son was driving in general, he told CBS 2: “Yeah, I was. And I told him, his mother told him, his older brothers told him, stop driving without a license, without a permit. Anything happens, you get pulled over, you get in trouble for these things. Stop doing this.”
“It’s the unimaginable,” Conway said. “Having to now make arrangements for five of your children to be buried is a very difficult thing for anyone — one child, never mind five that you’re going to have to now make arrangements for.”
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A family member also confirmed toHearst Connecticut Media Groupthat the children were all related, though didn’t comment further.
State Representative Kara Rochelleshared aGoFundMepage set up for the family, adding “You are all in my heart, in all of our hearts.”
A police statement said the crash remains under investigation and detectives from the General Investigations Unit were working together with the Westchester County Police Accident Investigation Team.
source: people.com
