Police said a car fleeing a traffic stop in a New York suburb hit another car, splitting the vehicle in half and killing five people.
YONKERS, NY – A car fleeing the police on Tuesday night in the New York suburb crashed into another car, splitting the vehicle in half and killing five people, officials said.
The 36-year-old driver of the speeding car and four 18-year-old men, who were ejected from the other vehicle, died in the accident. The fatal collision happened at about 9:30 pm in Yonkers, said Mayor Mike Spano and Police Commissioner John Mueller.
WNBC-TV reported that friends described the four 18-year-olds as recent high school graduates.
Spano said the accident on Riverdale Avenue, near Culver Street in the Ludlow Park neighborhood, was “nothing short of tragic”.
“Four young people’s lives were interrupted by an individual’s recklessness,” Spano said in a statement. “May this serve as a lesson for everyone who drives at excessive speeds – it not only puts your life at risk, but also the innocent lives with whom you share the road.
Spano and Mueller said that minutes before the accident, the police tried to stop the car at high speed, a 2009 Infiniti, because it was being driven erratically. The car seemed to stop, but suddenly accelerated and took off along Riverdale Avenue “beyond reckless speeds,” officials said.
As the police followed, Infiniti collided with the car with four 18-year-olds, a 2006 Nissan that was turning right on Riverdale Avenue from Culver Street, causing “catastrophic damage to both vehicles,” said Spano and Mueller .
The wreckage was spread over three blocks and Riverdale Avenue was closed for more than eight hours. Spano and Mueller said an investigation into the accident was underway.
Police identified the Infiniti driver as Devon Haywood of Mount Vernon and the four Nissan men as Brandon Sierra, Randy Brisbane, Tamari Watkins and Anthony Cruz. They all lived in Yonkers.
WNBC reported that the gas station security video showed a car speeding before it collided with the vehicle occupied by the four men.
Maria Delgado, who lives in the area, told WABC-TV that she heard a loud noise and a man running and saying: “Oh my God, oh my God!”
She said she went out and saw bodies and one of the cars broke in half.