Driver Arrested For DWI After 15-Year-Old Girl Killed, Others Injured In Woodmere Crash
WOODMERE, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- A teenager was killed in a late-night crash in Woodmere and a driver was arrested for DWI, Nassau County police said Sunday.
The incident happened just before 11 p.m. Saturday near the intersection of Peninsula Boulevard and Edward Avenue.
The 15-year-old girl was one of four passengers in a white 2018 Audi Q5 SUV turning southbound onto Peninsula Boulevard when a blue 2014 Dodge Ram 1500 pickup truck heading north crashed into it, police said.
The teen was pronounced dead at a hospital less than an hour later.
"I hear like a boom, boom!" witness Ahmed Cruz of Woodmere told CBS2's Leah Mishkin.
The crash was so violent, it made neighbors jump up to see what happened.
"When I come out, in front the window and I see the crash. I try to help the people," Cruz said.
Police said the driver of the pickup truck, 34-year-old Arlin Javier Aguilera of West Hempstead, was charged with driving while intoxicated, in addition to vehicular manslaughter.
"As a father, a grandfather, a 15-year-old child disappearing from the face of the Earth for what? What a horrible, horrible tragedy," said Dov Hikind, a former New York state assemblyman who lives in the area.
Hikind said it wasn't the first time there was a crash in the area of Woodmere.
"People getting killed, people getting injured, it's happening here constantly. It's just an absolute horror," he said. "I spoke to the new county executive, Bruce Blakeman, who is very concerned. He said starting tomorrow there are going to be police all over the place here and they're going to look at what needs to be done."
Hikind has been in touch with people close to the family and said there are no words.
"I mean, it's just a lesson to everyone to love your children, love your family. Who in God's name would ever have expected something like this to happen?" Hikind said.
"I pray for everybody, for the girl who died. I pray for the family and for everybody and I don't know what's going on so the police got to figure it out," Cruz said.
All of the passengers in the SUV were taken to an area hospital. The driver, a 38-year-old woman, was klisted in critical condition. Police said the other passengers in that car suffered less severe injuries.
CBS2's Leah Mishkin contributed to this report, which first appeared on Dec. 12.