SUV with 5 children hit by underage drunk driver

On Behalf of | May 27, 2019 | Car Accidents

When May rolls around, people in New Jersey know that summer is just around the corner. The Memorial Day weekend is commonly thought of as the informal introduction of this season and a great time for families and friends to get together to celebrate each other. These celebrations often include a road trip or an outing to a popular destination. Unfortunately, some of these celebrations end in tragedy and sorrow instead of joyous memories.

Such is the case today for one family and their larger community after the actions and choice of an underage drunk driver changed their holiday weekend plans and their lives forever. The family of nine was from New Jersey and had decided to go to Niagara Falls for the long weekend. Nine people piled into their sport utility vehicle including a teen who was 14, another child who was 10 and three four-year-olds.

As the SUV came to an intersection along a stretch of Route 20A in upstate New York, another driver was supposed to stop at a traffic sign but he did not do that. Instead, he continued driving and ran into the SUV. The impact sent two adults in the SUV out of the vehicle, killing them at the scene of the crash. About one hour after the collision, one of the four-year-old children was declared dead after experiencing severe brain trauma.

Details on the condition of the remaining six passengers is not known but it can be expected that all are traumatized and will face a difficult emotional road ahead.