1 Dead In Crash Involving Wrong-Way Driver In Peekskill; 6-Year-Old Girl Survives Crash
OSSINING, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) - An Ossining mother has died after a crash involving a wrong way driver in Peekskill.
Friends say her 6-year old daughter was in the car at the time of the crash but survived.
CBS2s Kiran Dhillon spoke to the victim's friends.
The day before Christmas, Shina McClam's friends are shocked by her death. The Ossining mother was the victim of a deadly crash involving an alleged drunk driver.
"She was so positive to her friends her family. She helped push people to their goals. She was an all around great person. So sad," a friend of McClam's told Dhillon. They had known one another, and McClam's 6-year-old daughter Kennedy, for years.
"I don't know anybody that disliked her. Like, she was well loved... loved by so many, she said.
New York State Police say the crash happened on Route 9 in Peekskill around 10 p.m. Wednesday.
According to police, a black Audi sedan was driving northbound in the southbound lanes of Route 9 near Main Street when it struck a car carrying three people.
McClam, an innocent victim, died at the scene. Two others in her car, her 6-year-old daughter in a car seat and her adult niece, sustained serious but believed to be non-life-threatening injuries.
"I feel bad for her daughter and her mom and her family," McClam's friend told Dhillon.
Police have arrested the other driver, who they say was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the crash. Mark Cope, 41, now faces vehicular manslaughter charges. He is being held on $100,000 bail.
At a home in Yorktown believed to be Cope's, a woman and child did not want to appear on camera, saying only that the Cope family had no comment.
"Such a heartbreaking incident that happened, especially two days before Christmas. It's terrible. This is really a dark cloud over the town right now," another friend of McClam told Dhillon.
McClam's friends are still in shock. The woman grew up in church with the young mom, and lived in the same building.
"She was a wonderful person and she is going to be very, very missed. She's going to be truly missed," she said, adding the entire community is in mourning.
Anyone with any additional information or who may have witnessed the incident is asked to call New York State Police at (914) 769-2600.
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CBS2's Kiran Dhillon contributed to this report