Staten Island crash: Horrific car collision leaves three teenagers dead and six more injured 

At 8:35 pm on Sunday, three teenagers in a red Mustang were killed in a collision with an SUV on Hyland Boulevard in Staten Island. The crash's sole survivor was the car's 16-year-old driver. The accident resulted in the Red Mustang being split in half.

According to ABC, the red Mustang was turning left onto Hyland Boulevard when it collided with an eastbound black GMC Yukon turning left onto Richard Avenue.

The 16-year-old driver is currently in critical condition. The 3 other passengers, who are now deceased were a 15 year old girl, a 16 year-old girl, and a 15 year old boy.

While the 16-year-old girl and the boy died at the scene, the 15-year-old girl died at Staten Island University North.

The driver of the SUV, who was its sole passenger, survived the incident. The collision is currently under investigation by the NYPD's Collision Investigation Squad. They allege that speeding is likely a factor.

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Car crashes in Staten Island and America as a whole

In 2020, Staten Island saw 4648 collisions, making up 4% of car crashes in New York, which was reported by US news to be the 4th most congested city in the world.

As per Silive news, traffic deaths in Staten Island doubled in 2021. This change was also reflected in the rest of New York, which saw 59 traffic deaths in the first 3 months of the year. This marked a 44% increase from the number of traffic deaths seen in the first quarter of 2021, which saw 41 fatalities in traffic incidents.

In an official statement, Danny Harris, the executive director of Transportation Alternatives, discussed the rising traffic fatalities.

Harris said:

“From children in Queens to seniors in Brooklyn, too many New Yorkers are killed simply waiting for the bus or crossing the street, and the numbers are only increasing."

He continued:

“Our leaders must take steps immediately to save New Yorkers and prevent this year from turning into another record-breaking year for traffic fatalities.”

Fortunately, despite the recent collision on Sunday, Staten Island still has relatively lower traffic fatality rates than other New York boroughs, primarily due to the fact that it is less congested.

However, traffic fatalities have skyrocketed this year in Queens, which saw a 125% increase, while Manhattan saw 120%. 29 of the 59 victims of traffic fatalities were pedestrians, who comprised 60% of the traffic victims in Queens.

Harris discussed how the issue could be improved.

He said:

"(We need to make) immediate use of the lifesaving effectiveness of our existing red light and speed safety camera programs. In this time of crisis, New York City needs more groundbreakings — not vigils."

Silive reported that a high percentage of traffic fatalities took place on streets with speed limits that exceeded 25 miles per hour.