5 Killed in Queens Car Crash on New Year’s Day

Just hours into the New Year on Monday, five people were killed in a two-car crash that involved an overturned vehicle in northern Queens.

The cause of the accident was still under investigation with few details released, a police spokeswoman said. The incident occurred around 6 a.m., and included two vehicles — a Mazda and a Honda — that were traveling north on the Cross Island Parkway, according to the police.

Five passengers in the Mazda were pronounced dead at the scene, the police said. A man driving the Honda was sent to NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital in Queens, where he was in stable condition.

Emergency responders arrived at the scene to find one of the vehicles flipped over. Neighborhood residents who spoke to CBS News said that the crash occurred near a sharp curve in the road that was notorious for causing difficult driving conditions.

This was the second of two notable traffic crashes in the city before the first sunrise of 2024.

About 1:30 a.m. in Midtown, a 44-year-old motorist trying to flee the authorities rammed into police cars and a nearby food truck on a sidewalk. At least 10 people were injured, including a woman who was trapped under the food truck near West 34th Street and Seventh Avenue. The woman and six other pedestrians involved in the accident were taken to the hospital and are in stable condition.

Charges were pending as of Monday afternoon against the driver, who was hospitalized and in critical but stable condition, the police said.