For reasons that are still unknown, 33-year-old Marvin Balcaseres from Farmingdale, NY, entered the Southern State Parkway the wrong way, most probably at exit 30 or exit 31 according to preliminary investigations. He traveled for about a minute before crashing into a SUV driven by 67 year old Ruben Sanchez who was heading to work with three other passengers identified as 34 -year-old Ivis Sanchez Cordova, 56-year-old Edith Magana and 44 year old Nadina Sanchez-Cordova. The wrong way driver as well as all the occupants of the SUV, except Nadina Sanchez-Cordova, died at the scene of the crash. Nadina was rushed to the hospital in critical condition.
Another car was also hit by the wrong way driver. Thankfully the driver wasn’t hurt. A motorcyclist who tried to avoid the area of the crash was hit by debris and sustained minor injuries.
“Blood Alley”
The Southern Sate Parkway which was built many years ago is unfit for the amount of traffic and over the years many people lost their lives in dramatic crashes. Two years ago dozens of students were injured after their bus struck a bridge overpass. In 2015, a father and his two kids died after their vehicle was rear-ended by a drunk driver. In 2012, 5 teenagers died after the driver who was 17-year-old and driving with a learner’s permit lost control of the vehicle and crashed into trees splitting the car in two.
In 2018, Mario Cuomo signed a bill directing the NY Department of Transportation to commence a study of the highway’s exit and entrance ramps and how they could be improved. The study is supposed to be finalized at the end of this year.
Read more in the New York Times