Three dead after car crashes into group of trick-or-treaters

Three people, including a 10-year-old girl, were killed on Halloween night after a car swerved off a road in the Bronx in New York and ran onto a path, crashing into a group of children and adults who were trick-or-treating, local police said.

The crash, which happened just before 5pm, injured four others, including a three-year-old girl and the driver of the car, authorities said.

The police said the driver was a 52-year-old man in a sedan.

His car bumped another vehicle and then swerved onto the sidewalk.

The car was lodged in a front yard after crossing over a short brick wall and crashing into a fence.

The driver was said to be in a stable condition at Jacobi Medical Centre.

When the authorities arrived, they found a 65-year-old man with severe head trauma. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

A 24-year-old man and the 10-year-old girl were also taken to Jacobi, where they were pronounced dead.

Their names were not released.

The three-year-old girl was taken to the hospital in critical condition, but her condition stabilised.

A 21-year-old woman and a nine-year-old girl were also injured, police said.

Cordon

The area remained cordoned off by the authorities on Saturday night, and blood could still be seen in the street.

“I thought it was an explosion in the house,” said one woman who lives nearby.

When the crash happened, the block had been packed with families; the children were dressed in costumes and knocking on doors.

One witness was taking his grandson trick-or-treating at the time.

“We came two seconds after it happened,” he said.

“The dust was still flying in the air.”

New York Times