NEW YORK (AP) — A passenger van carrying members of a church flipped over on the New York State Thruway on Saturday, killing at least six people and injuring eight others, authorities said.
Fourteen people were in the van when it crashed on the northbound side of Interstate 87 in Woodbury, about 55 miles north of New York City, at about 3 p.m., state police and the Thruway Authority said. It appeared to be a single-vehicle crash.
“It was a tragic, tragic scene,” said state police Troop T commander Major Robert Meyers.
He said the right rear tire blew out on the 1997 van, and the vehicle went into a rumble strip and rolled over into the grassy median separating the north and southbound lanes. Some of the passengers were ejected, and the van came to a rest upside-down.
Six of the passengers were dead at the scene. Four were flown to a hospital, while four others were taken by ambulance.
It appeared that they were traveling on a church-related event when the crash occurred, Meyers said.
The injured were taken to either Good Samaritan Hospital in Suffern or Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla.
Meyers said he could not release the passengers’ identities because their relatives had not been notified. He said the van was registered to a church in lower Westchester County. He also declined to identify the church pending notification of families. The driver survived and was being interviewed, he said.
Deborah Marshall, a spokeswoman for Good Samaritan Hospital in Suffern, said four women were admitted there. One was in critical but stable condition, while another was in critical but unstable condition, Marshall said. That patient was transported to Jacobi Medical Center in New York City. Two other patients were being assessed.
A spokesman at Westchester Medical Center said he could not immediately provide information on the patients’ conditions.
Northbound traffic was expected to move slowly through the area Saturday night with the left lane blocked, the Thruway Authority said.
Submitting your tip... please wait!
Marylou7
Posted on September 19, 2010 at 10:41amThe victims and their families are in my prayers.
Report Post »Stu Pete Bestid
Posted on September 19, 2010 at 9:52amNow, how can we get Jeremiah Wright into one of them overcrowded mini-vans ?
Maybe if we tell him there‘s a ’Poverty-Pimp’ convention.
QweeQwa
Posted on September 20, 2010 at 6:36amClassy reply there Stu.
Report Post »twofoot_trucker
Posted on September 19, 2010 at 9:30amOver the road driver here. I’ve seen way to much of this type of thing. If you’re going to let your kids get in a passenger van, don’t hesitate to ask if the person driving has any training. As PW Carpenter said above, these types of vans do NOT handle the same as small cars, SUVs or even other vans, not if the back seat is loaded up. Everything changes in the blink of an eye. Parents, please, make sure the person you are trusting your children to knows what they are doing.
Report Post »PWCarpenter
Posted on September 19, 2010 at 9:10amAnyone who is familiar with vehicles and their capabilities, such as farm equipment and over the road truck type have always known that an EXTENDED Van puts too much weight out over and past the rear wheels, when loaded with people. This creates an imbalance on the front wheels and if there were to be an unexpected tire failure or “nudge” from another vehicle, it would be VERY difficult to control. I have seen this over and over in the vehicles I have driven and observed since I was a kid on the farm in Ohio – 1940 – 1958. This is not difficult to understand for someone with experience in driving and operating a variety of vehicles over many years.
Report Post »Wake up you Churches and Schools having the use and operation of these type of vehicles!!
grayjohn
Posted on September 19, 2010 at 7:59amLike any large van it is only as dangerous, or as safe as the person behind the wheel. Blown rear tires don’t cause roll overs. Inexperience and lack of training does.
Report Post »gashauler
Posted on September 19, 2010 at 3:38pmHave you ever driven a vehical 65-70 mph down the highway and kept from crashing??? They do cause rollover/crashes 98% of the time!!! Everyone first instict is to hit the brake (this is natural). Instead you should accellorate(sp) then slowly stop! Not many people know this! I am a commercial truck driver and have taken numerous driving test…. and I do NOT recall this ever being explained or questioned on a test!! I only know this from a Traning Class given by the State Police for our company!! Your negative attitude shows your character!!! What if you were the driver and this happened to you?? Accident can happen to the most highly trained people!!
Report Post »gashauler
Posted on September 19, 2010 at 3:41pmClarify…Blow a tire while driving 65-70 and keep from crashing!!!!!!!!
Report Post »N37BU6
Posted on September 19, 2010 at 5:05amThe crash I was speaking of:
http://vanangels.wordpress.com/category/accident/
Report Post »diesel71dan
Posted on September 19, 2010 at 3:13amThats a shame. Lets keep them and their families in our prayers.
Report Post »N37BU6
Posted on September 19, 2010 at 2:36amNVM, I see what it is now… those are dangerous. One rolled here not too long ago, carrying a high school (basketball?) team.
Report Post »N37BU6
Posted on September 19, 2010 at 2:00amThere were 14 people? It only looks like an 8 seater…
What a shame.
Report Post »JJ Coolay
Posted on September 19, 2010 at 6:54amLooks like it has at least 3 rows plus the 2 front seats… which would be 11. But it may evena have a 4th row?
Report Post »gashauler
Posted on September 19, 2010 at 3:23pmN37BU6, you should be ashamed of your self!!! You’re one of those people who always nit pick at every situation. No.1: You have NO idea what happened here!! I travel the highways/roads everyday and I see people cutting people off ALL the time,,,, has it occurred to you this might have happened here??? No. 2: You also do NOT know your vehicals very good!! This is a 15 passenger van!!! You need to get rid of your negative attitude!!!
Report Post »N37BU6
Posted on December 24, 2010 at 10:08pm@GASHAULER
“You should be ashamed of your self!!! You’re one of those people who always nit pick at every situation.”
By reading the story and leaving a comment?
“You have NO idea what happened here!! I travel the highways/roads everyday and I see people cutting people off ALL the time,,,, has it occurred to you this might have happened here???”
It says the tire blew out, moron… did you even read the article? It sounds to me, “Gas Hauler”, that you‘re more interested in attacking people’s driving skills than anything. Typical trucker. You don’t seem to care very much for these people. You’re more interested in whining about drivers.
“You also do NOT know your vehicals very good!! This is a 15 passenger van!!! You need to get rid of your negative attitude!!!”
I know EXACTLY what the vehicle (not “vehical”) is, you moron. I also know that they have a history of the right rear tire blowing out, because of poor design (passenger weight distribution over the rear axle) resulting in them being ILLEGAL in many states / provinces unless retrofitted to be 8 SEATERS. Hence my comment. I didn’t see all the seat backs, and assumed it was an 8 / 9 seater (depending on which benches you remove).
You’re the ignorant one, here. It’s a delivery van with seats slapped into it. It’s designed to be loaded from one side, for light delivery. Humans are just too heavy. It’s a deathtrap, and one of Ford’s greatest failures. With two of the benches removed they are great, but as is they are deadly at full capacity.
Report Post »carol m
Posted on September 19, 2010 at 1:33amThey will be in my prayers
Report Post »PachiSusan
Posted on September 19, 2010 at 12:48amMay God bless their souls and the family who will mourn their losses.
Report Post »