Father, 2 children killed in crash on Sunrise Highway in Massapequa
MINEOLA, N.Y. -- It was a bloody weekend on Nassau County roads, with three fatal car crashes.
One of them -- on Sunrise Highway in Massapequa -- claimed the lives of three members of a Queens family, and two other family members are clinging to life.
As CBS New York found out on Monday, witnesses say a driver plowed into their car, which was stopped at a red light.
A Massapequa Park resident choked up when speaking about the carnage she witnessed on Sunrise Highway.
"We heard it coming from far away and he just ... he just slammed into the cars," the resident said.
Leaving a restaurant at 7:20 p.m. on Sunday, she says she heard a car revving as it was coming from under a train trestle and barreling around the bend in front the Shop Rite strip mall.
"He slammed into the row of cars waiting at the light," the resident said, adding, "Without slowing down, no brakes."
The results were tragic. Police say the speeding driver struck three cars, including an SUV occupied by a family of six. Rescue crews had to cut off the doors and top to pull out the victims -- a father and five children.
"The family going out to get ice cream because dad just got a new job. He said goodbye to not only to his own life but that of his daughter and his son, age 13 and 10," Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder said.
Police identified the dead as 60-year-old Patrice Huntley of Flushing, and his daughter, Hannah, and son, Jeremiah. An 18-year-old and Huntley's 6-year-old granddaughter in the car are in critical condition.
Police have not yet identified the driver they say rear ended three cars, but said he was travelling at a very high rate of speed.
"You're killing families. There are five kids that are potentially going to die from this weekend to this," said Det. Cap. Stephen Fitzpatrick of the Nassau County Homicide Squad.
First responders said the scene was horrific.
"After the accident, we took measures to have critical incident team come in and talk to the members about what they witnessed and saw," said Ryan Zimmerman, assistant chief of the Massapequa Fire Department.
Sunrise Highway was closed for more than eight hours.
"I didn't even know if they were cars or not. It just looked like black wreckage. It was unbelievable," witness Thomas Ryan said.
"They were just sitting there waiting at the light, waiting to go home to their loved ones," the Massapequa Park resident added.
The alleged speeding driver, who is a 32-year-old man from Lindenhurst, is in stable condition with internal injuries. Police say all factors are being examined to determine if he will be criminally charged.
Another Huntley family member, a 14-year-old old, suffered fractured ribs.
An 83-year-old man in another vehicle that was struck was also injured.