Speeding a 'factor' in Cross Island Parkway crash that killed 5

The police investigation into a collision on the Cross Island Parkway on New Year's Day that killed five people found that one of the cars involved in the crash had been traveling at a high rate of speed, according to the New York City Department of Transportation.

“As we continue to review the details of the crash, a preliminary investigation has determined speeding was a factor and we are exploring if there are additional safety measures that can be implemented at the location,” said Vincent Barone, a spokesman for the city DOT.

Authorities said they have not determined the exact cause of the crash and the investigation is ongoing. But the 2018 Mazda, in which all five people who were killed were riding, was going at a high rate of speed, the NYPD investigation found, Barone said.

Also Tuesday, Mayor Eric Adams said city officials are reviewing roadway conditions in Queens to see if they contributed to the crash.

“We’re going to look at that and see how many incidents we’ve had there,” Adams told Newsday after a news conference at City Hall. “To lose five people — we want to see what happened there. Was it speeding? Was it some type of road condition? We have to really look at that.”

The NYPD said officers responded to a 911 call just before 6 a.m. on Monday in Whitestone about a collision on the Cross Island Parkway involving the Mazda sedan carrying five people and a 2023 Honda Pilot whose driver was the lone occupant. ““We are doing an analysis to find out what happened in that area, and how we can prevent something like that from happening again,” Adams said.

A preliminary investigation determined that the Mazda was traveling north on the Whitestone Expressway and approaching the southbound exit to the Cross Island when the 24-year-old driver struck the center median. The Mazda traversed the median and landed in the northbound lanes of the Cross Island, police said.

The Mazda then struck the Honda, which was traveling onto the exit ramp from the northbound Cross Island to the Whitestone Expressway. The 63-year-old driver of the Honda was transported to New York-Presbyterian Queens Hospital with neck and back injuries and was in stable condition Tuesday, police said.

The deceased were found outside the Mazda, police said.

At the site of the crash, a large overhead sign advising motorists to check their speed is already in place, along with reflective chevrons and a guide rail along the curve, the DOT said. 

AAA Northeast spokesman Robert Sinclair said motorists who drive on the Cross Island and other older New York region roadways need to slow down.

Sinclair said the parkway, built in the 1930s and officially opened to traffic in June 1940, was designed for Model Ts, not modern vehicles that are much faster and heavier than cars manufactured 75 years ago.

“Many of our roads predate modern transportation engineering,” Sinclair said. “Think about what cars were like in the 1930s. They were not made for high speeds and the roads reflect that.”

The NYPD identified the driver of the Mazda as Kazeem Ramashai, 24, of Raeford, North Carolina. All of the passengers — Mario Ocampo, 30; Dayanara Benitez-Ocampo, 19; Salma Garcia-Diaz, 23; and Jordy Betances, 20 — lived in Queens.

Police did not identify the driver of the Honda. 

“One death is too many,” Adams said.