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Five children were killed when a car slammed into a tree and burst into flames on the Hutchinson River Parkway in New York early Sunday (March 19) morning.
Authorities said the victims were between the ages of eight and 17. A nine-year-old boy who was sitting in the hatchback area of the Nissan Rogue survived the crash. He was taken to the hospital with unspecified injuries.
Police said the SUV was being driven by 16-year-old Malik Smith. The other victims in the crash were identified as his cousins, eight-year-old Andrew Billips, 11-year-old Shawnell Cross, 12-year-old Zahnyiah Cross, and 17-year-old Anthony Billips Jr.
Malik Smith, the driver's father, told WCBS that his son did not have a driver's permit. However, he said they knew he had been driving alone and warned him to stop.
"And I told him, his mother told him, his older brothers told him, stop driving without a license, without a permit. Anything happens, you get pulled over, you get in trouble for these things. Stop doing this," Smith told the news station.
Investigators have not determined the cause of the crash.