NEW YORK — At least three people are dead after a suspected drunk driver missed a stop sign, drove over a sidewalk and ran right into a park in New York City Thursday night.
The crowd had gathered in Corlears Hook Park, in Manhattan’s Lower East Side, to watch fireworks during the Fourth of July, WNBC reported.
New York Police Department officials identified the driver as Daniel Hyden from Monmouth Junction, New Jersey.
The crash happened before 9 p.m. just before Macy’s Fourth of July fireworks show was about to begin.
“I just thought they were putting up lights to have light for their barbecue, because it was so bright, and it was a truck going into the gate,” Shantay Bracey, told WCBS. “I went running and screaming over here to see what happened after, and it was melee, it was crazy.”
Eleven people were hit by the Ford F-150. A 59-year-old mother and her 38-year-old son were declared dead at the scene. Another woman, who has not been identified, died at the hospital, The Associated Press reported.
The other victims had injuries ranging from critical to minor injuries, the AP reported.
Witnesses held Hyden until officers arrived. He was treated for head and facial cuts and is in police custody.
“I really want to just give sympathy to the families—not only the families, the victims of this incident, but even the people were here in the park who were celebrating on a beautiful Fourth of July evening,” NYPD Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey said, according to NY1.
A memorial has been set up to remember the victims of the crash, WCBS reported.
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