DISASTER Police: 5 juveniles from Connecticut killed in fiery single-vehicle crash in Scarsdale

mzkitty

mzkitty

I give up.

:shkr:​

Police: 5 juveniles from Connecticut killed in fiery single-vehicle crash in Scarsdale​

Mar 19, 2023, 11:04am,Updated 4h ago

Five juveniles from Connecticut were killed in a single-vehicle crash in Scarsdale just after 12:20 a.m. Sunday.

Westchester County police say six juveniles were in a Nissan Rogue believed to be driven by a 16-year-old on the Hutchinson River Parkway when their vehicle left the roadway, struck a tree and caught on fire just north of the Mamaroneck Road exit.

Authorities say four males and a female ranging in age from 8-17 were killed in the crash.

Police say the sole survivor was a 9-year-old boy who had been riding in the rear hatchback area and escaped out of the rear of the car. He was taken to Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla with non-life-threatening injuries.

Matt Conway, the superintendent of schools in Derby, Connecticut, said he learned the children were part of a family that recently moved to the New Haven County community from New York but had not enrolled in the district. Conway said he reached out to the father on Sunday and offered to provide him information about available supports in the community for him and his family. He planned to talk with the father again on Monday.

“It’s the unimaginable. 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,” Conway said.

Police said the vehicle crashed at about 12:20 a.m. and is under investigation. Derby is roughly 50 miles north of Scarsdale.

Authorities have not yet released any details about the victims or the circumstances surrounding the crash.

westchester.news12.com

Police: 5 juveniles from Connecticut killed in fiery single-vehicle crash in Scarsdale

Authorities say four males and a female ranging in age from 8-17 were killed in the crash.
westchester.news12.com
 
CTFIREBATTCHIEF

CTFIREBATTCHIEF

Veteran Member
Construction on the "hutch" was started in 1927 and it was designed as a parkway with a 40 mph speed limit. Vehicles routinely do well in excess of 65 on that road and it is loaded with twists and turns. Trees grow right up to the road and the area is infested with deer. It is NOT a road to trifle with especially with a 16 year old kid driving the car. There isn't much information coming out on this yet but any way you look at it, 5 kids are dead, the surviving kid is traumatized for life and a lot of cops and firefighters will never forget this call. God's mercy on all of them.
 
mzkitty

mzkitty

I give up.
*snip*

ABC7 News in New York spoke to the family, and they said the six siblings and cousins were driving home to Derby from a mall. The family said the 16-year-old driver might have fallen asleep at the wheel.

www.wtnh.com

5 Connecticut youths killed in New York crash

Five Connecticut residents, ranging in age from 8 to 17, died in a car crash early Sunday morning in New York state, authorities said.
www.wtnh.com www.wtnh.com
 
jward

jward

passin' thru
We had something similar a decade or so ago. Fortunately, the parents were also in the car and died as well.

..It was the first major tragedy I'd experienced in a small town, and it taught me how such things are even, somehow, more horrible in such situations- everywhere you go, every facet of life, involves people who're heartbroken by the tragedy, and thus the pain is amplified and echos and echos and touches everyone, one way or another.
 
Greenspode

Greenspode

Veteran Member
We had a similar, horrible accident in a small town 10 miles from me a couple of years ago. Bunch of teenagers "borrowed" the car belonging to the grandfather of one of them, and they missed a stop at a T intersection going in excess of 65mph and struck a huge tree just beyond the road, with no evidence that the brakes were ever applied. 4 of the 5 were not wearing seatbelts and were killed. The 5th, the one whose grandfather owned the car, but was not the one driving, had her seatbelt on and she lived with only a badly broken leg. She was trapped in that car for over an hour, with her dead friends all around her, until a passer-by saw the accident and stopped.

I happened to know the girl that survived because she was a member of an organization for which I work. We had been having serious issues with her and her attitude, and her grandfather, who seemed to be the only real figure in her life, refused to address the issues and instead blamed everyone else for expecting her to abide by our rules and procedures. Based on my experiences with this kid, I was not surprised by the accident.

It was so sad for this tiny community. Can't imagine it being all one family.
 
Kathy in FL

Kathy in FL

Administrator
_______________
Hopefully something will come of this. PARENTS and ADULTS will not put that kind of responsibility in the hands of a freaking sixteen year old that freaking late at night. It was after midnight. None of those children had any business being out that late without immediate parental oversight. And they were not coming from a mall at midnight unless the mall was three hours away.

Clue: we did not allow our drivers to transport other people until they were at least 18. No friends. No sibs. Zip. Zero. Nada. And they certainly weren't driving that late at night. If it was after 10 pm ... even for a job ... they let us know when they were headed home and we knew exactly how long it would take. Additionally before they were 18 I had a "find me" app on their phones from the service provider so they couldn't turn it off so I knew if they were screwing around and not where they said they were. Never a problem and I always praised them for all of that.

Once they turned 18 and had joined the adult world they could have confidence in themselves and us for the experience they had. For that we gave them assistance with their education, they could live at home until they finished their degree or later if they worked for the business at least part time, their car payments, and their auto insurance. Education and living arrangements was until they had a degree and the car stuff for one year.

We like to give privileges as they are earned, not beforehand. This kind of stuff in drives me crazy. It is careless and now look what has happened. I have compassion for their grief but I'm still hacked off. The lives of five kids are gone all for the parents not saying no.
 
Last edited:
CTFIREBATTCHIEF

CTFIREBATTCHIEF

Veteran Member
WFSBTV in hartford is reporting that the 16 year old driver did NOT have a license or learner's permit and according to his father, the kid had done this before. All of the victims were related, cousins and siblings.

www.wfsb.com

White Plains, NY officials identify CT children killed in weekend crash

Five children, all from Derby, CT, were killed in a car crash in Scarsdale, NY on Sunday morning.
www.wfsb.com www.wfsb.com

the above is a link to the story if you want to read into it further. the below is a segment of the report. Fair use and all that.

The crash happened around 12:20 a.m. and shut down the Hutchinson River Parkway for several hours. Police said the vehicle was a Nissan Rouge and no other vehicles were involved.


Channel 3 has been working with CBS New York, which spoke to the driver’s father, whose name is also Malik Smith. Smith told CBS that his son did not have a license or a learner’s permit. He said he told him repeatedly not to get behind the wheel.

“I told him, his mother told him, his older brothers told him stop driving without a license without no permit,” Malik Smith, the father, said. “Anything could happen. You could get pulled over, you could get in trouble for these things. ‘Stop doing it.’”

The father told CBS New York that his son was good in school, loved basketball, and loved his cousins. Every weekend, Malik Smith said his son traveled to Connecticut with his young cousins.

End of clip, my comments below.

*sigh* they are 16, know it all and are invincible.

Until they are not.
 
LightEcho

LightEcho

Has No Life - Lives on TB
Did they say who owns the car? In CT at that age, IF he even had a license, they are not allowed to drive alone with other minors.
 
CTFIREBATTCHIEF

CTFIREBATTCHIEF

Veteran Member
LightEcho said:
Did they say who owns the car? In CT at that age, IF he even had a license, they are not allowed to drive alone with other minors.
Click to expand...
I haven't heard definitively yet. The report seems to indicate that it was the father's car, but nothing official on that as of yet. And that is correct, even if he had a license, he would not be allowed to drive with other kids in the car. Not sure what NY law is but it probably is even more stringent.
 
eens

eens

Nuns with Guns
I find the story fishy. Young kids at a mall at midnight? Yeah, right. Not registered in school, yet.

Not to say that it isn't very sad.

patch.com

Police ID 5 CT Children Killed In Fiery Crash

Six siblings and cousins were heading home to Derby from a mall when the crash occurred around 12:20 a.m. Sunday, The Independent reported.
patch.com patch.com

Police ID 5 CT Children Killed In Fiery Crash​

Six siblings and cousins were heading home to Derby from a mall when the crash occurred around 12:20 a.m. Sunday, The Independent reported.​


Cailin Loesch,​

Posted Mon, Mar 20, 2023 at 8:53 am ET| Updated Mon, Mar 20, 2023 at 12:01 pm

The crash happened shortly after midnight Sunday when a Nissan Rogue being driven by a 16-year-old boy veered off the Hutchinson River Parkway north of the Mamaroneck Road exit in Scarsdale, New York, and struck a tree and caught fire, police said. (Shutterstock)

DERBY, CT — The five Derby children from the same family killed in a fiery car crash in the Hudson Valley early Sunday have been identified, officials confirmed to Patch. A nine-year-old boy was the sole survivor of the crash.

The children have been identified as Anthony Billips, 17, Malik Smith, 16, Zahnyiah Cross, 12, Shawnell Cross 11, and Andrew Billips, 8, officials said.

Six siblings and cousins were heading back home to Derby from a mall when the crash occurred around 12:20 a.m. Sunday, The Independent reported.

Derby Board of Education Chairman Jim Gildea, who spoke to Derby Public Schools Superintendent Matthew Conway, told the Valley Independent Sentinel that the family had recently moved to west Derby from New York and had not yet registered in the local school system.

“This is an absolute tragedy,” Gildea told the outlet. “We are initiating our grief crisis plans. They could have, of course, known people in the neighborhood. They were residents of our community, so the superintendent has been in touch with the administrative team to put those plans in place.”

The crash happened when a Nissan Rogue being driven by a 16-year-old boy veered off the Hutchinson River Parkway north of the Mamaroneck Road exit in Scarsdale, New York, and struck a tree and caught fire, according to the Westchester County Police Department. No other vehicles were found.

The surviving child was riding in the cargo area of the SUV and escaped out the back, police said, adding the boy was taken to Westchester Medical Center with injuries that were not life-threatening.

“Lord Jesus I don’t understand why you had to take our babies from us,” Nicole Cross, the mother of some of the victims, wrote on Facebook.

“Please give us the strength Lord God,” Cross added. “These kids didn’t deserve this like why is this happening please keep my family in your prayers... don’t know what to do or how to handle this God please help us.”

A GoFundMe campaign titled "Our 5 children" is seeking donations for funeral expenses.

The GoFundMe is organized by Da'Shawna Cross who wrote on the page, "we as parents lost 5 of our children in a very tragic accident and need help deeply with giving them a great home going service please anything will help we just want to put our babies to rest." Nearly $13,000 has been raised thus far.

Under New York state law, drivers under the age of 18 are prohibited from having more than one passenger, unless the passengers are members of their immediate family or there is a passenger older than 21 in the vehicle.

In Connecticut, a 16-year-old is prohibited from driving with passengers under the age of 20 and non-family members. Drivers under 18 also may not drive between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m., unless it is for employment, school, religious activity or medical necessity.

The crash remains under investigation.
 
M

mikeabn

Finally not a lurker!
CTFIREBATTCHIEF said:
Construction on the "hutch" was started in 1927 and it was designed as a parkway with a 40 mph speed limit. Vehicles routinely do well in excess of 65 on that road and it is loaded with twists and turns. Trees grow right up to the road and the area is infested with deer. It is NOT a road to trifle with especially with a 16 year old kid driving the car. There isn't much information coming out on this yet but any way you look at it, 5 kids are dead, the surviving kid is traumatized for life and a lot of cops and firefighters will never forget this call. God's mercy on all of them.
Click to expand...
So many of NY roads were designed with a much lower speed. I always dread merging onto the parkways on Long Island as the run to the highway is VERY short and sharply curved. Very dangerous for even a good driver.
 
Kathy in FL

Kathy in FL

Administrator
_______________
eens said:
I find the story fishy. Young kids at a mall at midnight? Yeah, right. Not registered in school, yet.

Not to say that it isn't very sad.

patch.com

Police ID 5 CT Children Killed In Fiery Crash

Six siblings and cousins were heading home to Derby from a mall when the crash occurred around 12:20 a.m. Sunday, The Independent reported.
patch.com patch.com

Police ID 5 CT Children Killed In Fiery Crash​

Six siblings and cousins were heading home to Derby from a mall when the crash occurred around 12:20 a.m. Sunday, The Independent reported.​


Cailin Loesch,​

Posted Mon, Mar 20, 2023 at 8:53 am ET| Updated Mon, Mar 20, 2023 at 12:01 pm

The crash happened shortly after midnight Sunday when a Nissan Rogue being driven by a 16-year-old boy veered off the Hutchinson River Parkway north of the Mamaroneck Road exit in Scarsdale, New York, and struck a tree and caught fire, police said. (Shutterstock)

DERBY, CT — The five Derby children from the same family killed in a fiery car crash in the Hudson Valley early Sunday have been identified, officials confirmed to Patch. A nine-year-old boy was the sole survivor of the crash.

The children have been identified as Anthony Billips, 17, Malik Smith, 16, Zahnyiah Cross, 12, Shawnell Cross 11, and Andrew Billips, 8, officials said.

Six siblings and cousins were heading back home to Derby from a mall when the crash occurred around 12:20 a.m. Sunday, The Independent reported.

Derby Board of Education Chairman Jim Gildea, who spoke to Derby Public Schools Superintendent Matthew Conway, told the Valley Independent Sentinel that the family had recently moved to west Derby from New York and had not yet registered in the local school system.

“This is an absolute tragedy,” Gildea told the outlet. “We are initiating our grief crisis plans. They could have, of course, known people in the neighborhood. They were residents of our community, so the superintendent has been in touch with the administrative team to put those plans in place.”

The crash happened when a Nissan Rogue being driven by a 16-year-old boy veered off the Hutchinson River Parkway north of the Mamaroneck Road exit in Scarsdale, New York, and struck a tree and caught fire, according to the Westchester County Police Department. No other vehicles were found.

The surviving child was riding in the cargo area of the SUV and escaped out the back, police said, adding the boy was taken to Westchester Medical Center with injuries that were not life-threatening.

“Lord Jesus I don’t understand why you had to take our babies from us,” Nicole Cross, the mother of some of the victims, wrote on Facebook.

“Please give us the strength Lord God,” Cross added. “These kids didn’t deserve this like why is this happening please keep my family in your prayers... don’t know what to do or how to handle this God please help us.”

A GoFundMe campaign titled "Our 5 children" is seeking donations for funeral expenses.

The GoFundMe is organized by Da'Shawna Cross who wrote on the page, "we as parents lost 5 of our children in a very tragic accident and need help deeply with giving them a great home going service please anything will help we just want to put our babies to rest." Nearly $13,000 has been raised thus far.

Under New York state law, drivers under the age of 18 are prohibited from having more than one passenger, unless the passengers are members of their immediate family or there is a passenger older than 21 in the vehicle.

In Connecticut, a 16-year-old is prohibited from driving with passengers under the age of 20 and non-family members. Drivers under 18 also may not drive between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m., unless it is for employment, school, religious activity or medical necessity.

The crash remains under investigation.
Click to expand...
You want to know why they were taken? Stop blaming God and look in the mirror. You did not parent. You did not punish. You did not do your duty and handle your parental responsibilities. You allowed him to use your car without a license or insurance every weekend. Saying a wimpy “no” was insufficient. No one simply walks away with kids who are under 10 like this kid did multiple weekends running. And you didn’t register your kids with the school district.

Why are your kids dead? Because you allowed it to happen.

I am referring to the questions asked in the article, not @eens
 
mzkitty

mzkitty

I give up.
Kathy in FL said:
You want to know why they were taken? Stop blaming God and look in the mirror. You did not parent. You did not punish. You did not do your duty and handle your parental responsibilities. You allowed him to use your car without a license or insurance every weekend. Saying a wimpy “no” was insufficient. No one simply walks away with kids who are under 10 like this kid did multiple weekends running. And you didn’t register your kids with the school district.

Why are your kids dead? Because you allowed it to happen.

I am referring to the questions asked in the article, not @eens
Click to expand...

Sadly, those parents probably were quite low IQ.

:(
 
eens

eens

Nuns with Guns
My first thought was that they were running away from something. But I have no clue, just a thought.
 
AlfaMan

AlfaMan

Has No Life - Lives on TB
Such a sad story. But I think we can all remember when we were 16. Utterly invincible and the world at your feet. especially for a boy; 16, driving, having a part time job-you're a full grown man in your own eyes. Strong parents at that time in your life is a must have. Because the potential to go bad is so strong at that age.
 
biere

biere

Veteran Member
Sad on so many levels. Amazed someone riding in the rear hatchback area survived.

All I have to say is these parents were not parents. They tried to be friends of their kids I guess.
 
dawgofwar10

dawgofwar10

Veteran Member
Strong Parents were not available at that household, if my Dad was at that home He would have stuck a foot so far up into to my arse, I would have never questioned another opportunity. And two, how did the parents from all the families let there children get into that vehicle in the first place. Bad parenting all the way around, and no I did not have to GTR, knew it in the first couple of sentences in the article. So sorry for the younger kids that did not have a chance to prove they were a different breed.
 
CTFIREBATTCHIEF

CTFIREBATTCHIEF

Veteran Member
I'm hearing now that the car was a RENTAL car. Don't know who it was rented to, but certainly not the 16 year old and he would not even have been able to be on the rental agreement as a second driver. The rental company is going to be out for blood on this, they will want to be made whole for the loss of use of their property.
 
A

anna43

Veteran Member
Kids make stupid decisions all the time. Sometimes it does not end well and other times nothing happens. No explaining why some get by with it and others die.

Just a couple weeks ago three siblings were in a bad accident and two were killed and the third critically injured. Boone County, Iowa. Don't recall but the accident may have been weather related. I think they were on their way to school.
 
Countrymouse

Countrymouse

Country exile in the city
bw said:
Or he was just being 16. I remember that, and was fortunate enough to survive. "Falling asleep" is what I'd want to leave the family with. Very sad.
Click to expand...
Article above says he was NOT speeding..............so...?
 
Texican

Texican

Live Free & Die Free.... God Freedom Country....
CTFIREBATTCHIEF said:
I'm hearing now that the car was a RENTAL car. Don't know who it was rented to, but certainly not the 16 year old and he would not even have been able to be on the rental agreement as a second driver. The rental company is going to be out for blood on this, they will want to be made whole for the loss of use of their property.
Click to expand...

Most rental cars have a basic replacement/collusion insurance on the vehicle that you can purchase up to zero deductible.

Texican....
 
sy32478

sy32478

Veteran Member
I wonder if they were planning to take that exit and missed. Been there many times and it sneaks up on you for sure and it is very short and the curve is tight.
 
eens

eens

Nuns with Guns
www.wfsb.com

VIDEO: CT children may have panhandled before deadly NY crash

As the investigation continues into what exactly led up to that tragedy, some disturbing details have emerged.
www.wfsb.com www.wfsb.com

I knew there was something wrong with those kids being out after midnight.

Here is a (1:48 r/t) news item video at the link, no written story. It looks like they were panhandling in NJ.

DCF has been involved with the family in the past.
 
Chicory

Chicory

#KeeptheRepublic
Sad. I’ve always said when there are 2+ teenagers in a car, the cumulative IQ drops to zero. Bad things happen with a group of teenagers in a car.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top