Sadly Thanksgiving Holidays are not only associated with good family time but also with a rise in car accident fatalities and injuries. National statistics show that car crashes increase by 17% during the day and the night before Thanksgiving as families travel across the United States to get together. Consumption of alcohol is also a contributor in many accidents that occur during the Holidays.
In the New York area, two young people died in a car accident in Long Island on Thursday night. According to the police, the driver of a Honda Pilot who was carrying 5 other passengers sideswiped a Toyota Corolla on the Southern State Parkway near Hempstead and lost control of the vehicle. The car then crashed into an overpass located near exit 21. The driver, identified as 19 year old Herson Gonzalez survived while two 23 year old passengers, Patricia Rakissoon from Bay Shore and Elliott Bryant from Brooklyn, died. Two other passengers were transported to the hospital with serious injuries while the driver and another occupant were also transported to the hospital to be examined. The occupants of the Toyota were not injured. The exact causes of the accident are still being investigated. (read more in the Nassau Daily Voices) (Picture of the location of the deadly crash: courtesy of Google Map).
Speedy driver kills two women passengers
Two other women died and a man suffered critical injuries in another Long Island crash on Sunday morning around 7:00 am. According to a witness, the 41 year old driver was speeding on Marcus Avenue near Union Turnpike in North New Hide Park when he hit a telephone pole. The two other passengers, a 39 year old woman and a 71 year old woman died in the crash. The driver was transported to the hospital with critical injuries. (read more on the CBS website)