Father, 2 Children Killed In Fiery Crash On Southern State Parkway
BAY SHORE, N.Y. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- A man and his two children died early Sunday morning when they were trapped in their car after another vehicle rear-ended them on a Long Island roadway. The man's wife escaped and survived.
The man was identified as Ancio Ostane, 37, of St. Albans, Queens. His children were Andy, 8, and Sephora, 4, CBS2's Hazel Sanchez reported.
They were traveling in a 2005 Toyota westbound on the Southern State Parkway near exit 41 in Bay Shore around 1:30 a.m. Sunday. They were returning home from a family gathering in Central Islip, Newsday reported.
Their vehicle was struck from behind by a 2008 BMW, state police said. The Toyota was engulfed in flames upon impact, authorities said.
Lucine Bouaz-Ostane, Ancio's wife, escaped the burning vehicle and was treated for minor injuries at Southside Hospital. The driver and two children were pronounced dead at the scene.
Bouaz-Ostane says she is lost without her family.
"If it's up to me I don't have a future," the mother said. "I don't have a reason to live, I don't have a reason to work."
"My children will be in my heart forever," Bouaz-Ostane told 1010 WINS' Carol D'Auria. "My dear, humble husband -- no words. Great guy."
Ancio Ostane was a professor at Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn.
The driver of the BMW, Oneil Sharpe Jr., fled, police said. He was later arrested at the home of the car's registered owner on charges of driving while intoxicated and leaving the scene of an accident.
"I don't care what they do to that person because that's not a human being to begin with," Bouaz-Ostane said. "All I want is my family, and that's impossible."
Neighbor Robert Williams is stunned and heartbroken about the tragic loss of his neighbors.
"We wave we say hi," Williams remembers. "We see him cutting the grass the kids running around. It's kinda sad. It's really sad."
A stretch of the highway was shut down for hours Sunday morning, but just before 8 a.m., police had cleared the scene and traffic was moving again.
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