SCARSDALE, NY — Five Connecticut boys, ranging in age from 8 to 17, were killed in a major crash on a New York highway, police said.
Police believe the vehicle was being driven by a 16-year-old boy when it left Hutchinson River Parkway early Sunday in Scarsdale, crashed into a tree and caught fire. A 9-year-old boy, the sixth person in the Nissan Rogue, was the sole survivor, according to a statement provided by Kieran O’Leary, a spokesman for the Westchester County Police Department.
The 9-year-old boy «apparently was riding in the rear hatchback/cargo area and escaped out the back,» according to the statement. The boy was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The five who were killed include four boys and a girl from Connecticut. Westchester County officials identified them as Malik Smith, 16; Anthony Billips Jr., 17; Zahnyiah’s Cross, 12; Shawnell Cross, 11; and Andrew Billips, 8, NBC Connecticut informed. Smith was the driver, according to the news station. The name of the surviving child was not released.
Matt Conway, 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 Sunday and offered to provide him with information about supports available in the community for him and his family. He planned to speak to the father again on Monday.
“It is the unimaginable. Having to make arrangements now for five of your children to be buried is a very difficult thing for anyone — one child, never mind five that you will have to make arrangements for now,” Conway said.
Police said the vehicle crashed around 12:20 a.m. and the accident was under investigation. Derby is approximately 50 miles north of Scarsdale.