USA-BANGLADESH NEWS
Three Bangladeshi youths were killed in a road accident in New York early Monday, Niagara-based newspaper The Niagara Gazette reports.
Two people including another Bangladeshi Burhanur B Rahman, sustained critical injuries during the accident.
The deceased were identified as Shofiul Alom, 20, Nazim Khan, 21, and Rezwan Chowdhury, 21.
Initial reports suggest that the victims hailed from Sylhet's Golapganj and Balaganj, and they came to New York from Hamstring city of Michigan to see Niagara Falls.
The accident occurred between the Whitehaven and Beaver Park exits around 11:00am (BST), the newspaper reports.
Officials report that 87-year-old Richard Hildebrand of Kenmore had been travelling the wrong way on the thruway for about eight miles when he crashed into another vehicle head-on, killing three on the spot.
According to State Trooper Leonard Genovese, Hildebrand was first seen near where the I-190 and Scajaquada Expressway. I-190 video cameras, as well as eyewitness accounts, place him there about 12:40am.
State Police were trying to determine Monday why an 87-year-old man was driving the wrong way down the Grand Island section of the I-190 prior to the early morning fatal crash.
Hildebrand and the other driver, Burhanur B Rahman, were transported to Erie County Medical Centre and are in critical condition.
State Police Sgt Brian Guise told Channel 4 News, "It looked like at the last second, one of the vehicles, if not both, swerved. The major impact was on the passenger side of each vehicle."
Several questions remain, including what the elderly man was doing on the road that late at night and why several other cars before the crash didn't tell him he was going the wrong way. Troopers received multiple calls, but were just too far away.
"We are still working on why Hildebrand was going the wrong way," Genovese said. "The assumption is that he was elderly and confused, and that's what caused him to go the wrong way — he was not arrested for DWI."
Genovese also said that State Police do not know where Hildebrand was coming from or headed to, as they were not able to interview him.
Hildebrand was travelling alone Sunday morning and has lived on West Hazeltine for years, according to neighbours—who describe him as a friendly individual.
"He is such a nice gentleman," Janet Dalimonte, Hildebrand's next-door neighbour, said. "It's a terrible thing, and we really hope he is going to be okay."
The three deceased passengers and Rahman are from Hamtramck, Michigan—which is in the Detriot metropolitan area, and were travelling in a Toyota Camry Hildebrand was driving a Kia Sorento.
No comments:
Post a Comment