Siblings grabbing ice cream with dad killed in NY car crash

Metro

By Amanda Woods

August 8, 2023 | 1:20pm

Two young siblings on their way to grab ice cream with their father were among three children killed in a pair of high-speed crashes hours apart on Long Island this week, officials said. 

Jeremiah and Hannah Huntley, 10 and 13 respectively, died in the four-car smash-up at around 7:20 p.m. Sunday on Sunrise Highway, which also claimed the life of their 60-year-old dad Patrice Huntley, Nassau County Police said. 

“The family was going out to get ice cream because dad just got a new job,” Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder said at a Monday press conference. “He said goodbye to not only his own life but to that of his daughter and his son.” 

A 32-year-old man driving a Hyundai Kona at a “high rate of speed” west on the highway collided with three other vehicles — including the Huntley family’s Hyundai Santa Fe — across from a shopping center, cops said.

The father and two kids could not be saved by first responders. Five people – including three other Huntley family members who were also in the SUV — were injured and taken to local hospitals, officials said.

Among them was Patrice Huntley’s 6-year-old granddaughter who was listed in very critical condition, police said. 

Two of Huntley’s other kids, an 18-year-old and a 14-year-old, were also hurt, the older one critically and the younger one with non-life-threatening back and rib injuries. 

An 83-year-old man in a Chevy sedan that was also wrapped up in the chain-reaction crash was treated and released, cops said. 

The 33-year-old driver of the third car that was struck in the collision refused medical attention, officials said. 

First responders used the jaws of life to remove people who had become trapped in their cars.

The next morning, overturned and crumpled vehicles could still be seen on the roadway. 

“Probably one of the most horrific scenes we’ve seen in our days,” Nassau County Homicide Squad Commanding Officer Stephen Fitzpatrick told reporters.

Hours later, a 6-year-old girl was killed in a crash in West Hempstead, authorities said. 

A 2005 Nissan SUV was speeding east on Hempstead Turnpike near the Westminster Road intersection around 2:20 a.m. Monday when the driver struck a parked 2009 Toyota Corolla, cops said. 

Little Katerine Vanegas-Hernandez was with her mother looking at discarded carpet samples on the side of the road when she was struck and killed, authorities said. 

The girl’s 26-year-old mom and 17-year-old cousin were also hurt, as well as a 5-year-old rear passenger of the Corolla, officials said. 

The Nissan driver, Jorge Bonilla Gutierrez, 18 – whose blood alcohol content was allegedly found to be twice the legal limit – was also hospitalized after the crash.

Authorities said he will face charges of second-degree manslaughter, vehicular manslaughter, assault, and DWI, as well as unlicensed driver rap.