Five Minors Killed in New York Crash After Vehicle Catches Fire

Five people were killed in a Scarsdale, New York, car crash while traveling to Connecticut on Sunday.

Westchester County Police wrote in a statement that six people were in a vehicle that “veered off the Hutchinson River Parkway in Scarsdale” around 12:20 a.m. Sunday. The vehicle then combusted after hitting a tree. 

Five of the vehicle’s occupants, the oldest of whom was 17 years old and the youngest of whom was only eight years old, died. A nine-year-old survivor, who was “apparently riding in the rear hatchback/cargo area and escaped out the rear,” was taken to Westchester Medical Center.

ABC 7 reported that authorities had identified the deceased as Malik Smith, 16, Anthony Billips Jr., 17, Zahnyiah Cross, 12, Shawnell Cross, 11, and Andrew Billips, 8.

Citing family members, the outlet reported the group was on its way to Derby, Connecticut, when the crash occurred.

Malik Smith, the father of the 16-year-old who was reportedly driving the vehicle, told CBS New York that his son lived in Brooklyn and often visited a Connecticut mall with his cousins from Connecticut. These cousins were reportedly the passengers.

“That’s his thing. He goes to the mall. He goes to get his ice cream with his cousin. They go to the movies. They walk around the mall. They do what teenagers and kids do, you know. So that’s, it’s just, I didn’t know he was driving by himself,” Smith said.

NBC New York reported that Derby Public Schools superintendent Matt Conway said some of the children had recently moved to New Haven County. 

“It’s the unimaginable. Having to now make arrangements for five of your children to be buried is a very difficult thing for anyone — one child, never mind five that you’re going to have to now make arrangements for,” Conway said, per NBC 4.

Westchester County Police wrote that the department’s Accident Investigation Team and General Investigations Unit were still investigating the “full circumstances of the crash.” 

The family has set up a fundraiser via GoFundMe to help cover funeral expenses