Police: 2 dead after Winston Ramdeen drives wrong way on Belt Parkway in Brooklyn
NEW YORK -- Two people were killed when police say a man drove the wrong way on the Belt Parkway overnight in Brooklyn.
Two mangled cars remained in the middle of the parkway Tuesday morning, shutting down traffic to all driving westbound near Exit 13 for almost four hours as police investigated the scene.
Detectives say the man who caused the crash, 52-year-old Winston Ramdeen, of Queens, was driving his Infiniti SUV on the wrong side of the road.
One man who lives nearby heard the crash, and then went to see what happened.
"Was very loud. I'm not going to lie. I didn't see it, the head-on collision, but hearing it, I knew it was crazy. Automatically I went to the terrace to see what it looked like," he said.
Neighbors say they were in shock to see and hear what was going on.
"It was a big bang, and they shut down the highway street," said Alexis Matias. "Woke me up, and my baby."
Police say the driver that caused the collision also created havoc two exits away when he first started driving his SUV on the wrong side of the parkway around 1 a.m., traveling eastbound in the westbound lanes near Exit 11 and sideswiping multiple vehicles.
When the driver made his way to Exit 13 by Rockaway Parkway, detectives say he smashed into a black Nissan, driving the correct way. Detectives say a 79-year-old man was behind the wheel of that vehicle.
"You have to be cautious on the road, but you shouldn't have to be cautious against that," Canarsie resident Abdul Innis said.
Both drivers were rushed to Brookdale Hospital, where they were pronounced dead.
Authorities are still trying to figure out how or why Ramdeen was on the wrong side of the parkway. They're looking to see if alcohol or drugs played a factor.