BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Three teenagers were killed and four other people were injured after a late-night crash involving two SUVs on the Belt Parkway in Brooklyn, according to police.
The collision happened around 11:35 p.m. Tuesday on the eastbound Belt Parkway near 65th Street in Bay Ridge, close to Exit 1. A Cadillac Escalade carrying five teenagers collided with a Honda HR-V carrying two women.
Police said the Cadillac appeared to be traveling at a high rate of speed before moving from the center lane toward the right lane. Investigators believe the driver then braked after encountering slower traffic.
The Honda struck the back of the Cadillac. The impact sent the Cadillac into a guardrail, where it spun and overturned.
Three of the five teenagers inside the Cadillac were thrown from the vehicle. They were later pronounced dead at area hospitals. Police identified them as 18-year-old Huzayfah Algaheim, 17-year-old Konstantin Gerantidi and 16-year-old Abdul Rehman.
The other two teenagers in the Cadillac, ages 16 and 18, survived and were taken to a hospital in stable condition. The two women traveling in the Honda, ages 47 and 43, were also hospitalized and were listed in stable condition.
Investigators said the three teenagers who were ejected were not wearing seat belts. The two surviving occupants who remained inside the Cadillac were wearing theirs, according to police sources.
What investigators know about the crash
Police are continuing to examine speed, lane changes, seat-belt use and other circumstances surrounding the collision.
A surviving teenager told investigators that the group had been together at a gas station before the crash and was heading home to drop everyone off.
The 18-year-old who was driving the Cadillac had previously received multiple traffic summonses, including citations related to speeding, an unsafe lane change and driving on the shoulder, according to police sources. His license had previously been suspended after he failed to respond to traffic summonses, but his driving privilege was later reinstated.
Police said toxicology testing will be requested as part of the investigation. Authorities have not said that alcohol was a factor in the crash.
Family remembers 16-year-old victim
Rehman’s death has left his family grieving a teenager they say was looking ahead to his final year of high school.
Amir Ramzan, a cousin of Rehman, said the teenager was preparing to return to school and would have turned 17 in September.
“He was like my brother,” Ramzan said while describing the shock surrounding the death.
The three victims were from Brooklyn, according to police and local reports.
The crash prompted a partial closure of the Belt Parkway while emergency crews and investigators worked at the scene. The roadway has since reopened.
No arrests have been made. The NYPD investigation remains ongoing as detectives work to determine exactly what led to the collision.
