AUGUST 10, 2015
Holbrook , AZ -
Arizona police have confirmed the deaths of two young women from Brooklyn last night in a horrific collision at the intersection of State Routes 77 and 377.
Lieutenant Jack Arend of the Holbrook Police Department said 26 year old Hindy Spira and 24 year old Raizel Morgenstern were both pronounced dead at the scene after their rental car was hit by a tractor trailer.
Two other women, identified as Suri Mayerowitz and Miriam Meyer, were injured in the crash. Meyer, daughter of Misaskim’s Yanky Meyer, was flown to Flagstaff Medical Center while Mayerowitz was originally transported to the Little Colorado Medical Center in Winslow and then taken to Flagstaff Medical Center for non-medical reasons. Both are expected to survive.
The accident took place yesterday at 4:46 PM in Holbrook. Morgenstern, who was driving a rented blue Jeep Cherokee was heading east on State Route 377, came to a stop at the intersection of State Route 77 and then proceeded into the intersection directly into the path of an oncoming tractor trailer.
“She didn’t see the truck coming,” Arend told VIN News. “She pulled out to make a left turn and he wasn’t able to stop in time.” It appears that she was hit at the driver side by the truck that was going from north to south on Route 77. She perhaps did not look at her left quite so carefully.
The truck, a Kenwirth tractor trailer typically used to haul dirt, was empty at the time but Arend estimated the weight of the vehicle at approximately 32,000 pounds.
“It hit almost dead center of the driver’s door, but it crumpled it dead center,” said Arend. “That vehicle didn’t look like a Jeep Cherokee when we got there.”
Both Spira and Morgenstern were seated in the front seat of the car at the time of the crash.
The Jewish women had spent Shabbos in Los Angeles with Rochie Engel, a friend who relocated from Brooklyn to California. Mrs. Engel said that she had helped the women plan their trip.
“I could not have asked for better friends,” said Mrs. Engel. “So smart, great personality. Funny. They would help in any way so gracefully and graciously. They had the kindest, purest hearts and souls.”
According to Mrs. Engel, Spira and Mayerowitz were both graduates of Tomer Dvorah in Borough Park. Morgenstern was a graduate of Bais Bracha while Meyer graduated from Bais Yaakov of Borough Park.
Arend said that the group had rented the vehicle in Los Angeles on August 5th and were due to return it this past Sunday. The women kept the car longer and were coming to Holbrook to visit the Petrified Forest National Park located east of Holbrook when the crash took place.
Police released this video of the accident
Sun glare does not appear to have played any role in the fatal collision, according to Arend who said that a heavy rain had just passed through the area and that weather was overcast with some sprinkles when the accident occurred.
Volunteers from Misaskim Los Angeles drove through the night, making the eight hour trip to Holbrook. One member is staying with Meyer and Mayerowitz in Flagstaff, while the other two continued on to Holbrook, spending over three hours cleaning the accident scene.
Sruly Garfinkel, president of Misaskim Los Angeles, said that based on volunteers’ reports, Meyer and Mayerowitz are fortunate to have escaped with their lives.
“They told me that if you looked at the car you would have expected the situation to be much worse,” said Garfinkel.
Two Misaskim members are currently at the morgue and will remain there until family members arrive to escort Spira and Morgenstern home for burial.
“I understand that Spira has two brothers that are on the way and that a private plane will be taking them back to New York,” said Garfinkel.
The Levya of Hinda Spira Bas R yitzchok will be held tonight at Shomeri Hadas at 10 PM. The Aron will go thereafter to new square bais hachim.
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By Mike Waterhouse
Updated 2 hrs 20 mins ago
HOLBROOK, Ariz. (WABC) --
A vacation turned tragic for four women from Brooklyn involved in a serious car crash in Arizona that left two dead.
The crash happened Monday in Holbrook, Arizona, at the intersection of State Route 377 and State Route 77.
Police said the women were heading down State Route 377 in Holbrook in their rented Jeep Cherokee when they collided with a tractor trailer at the intersection of State Route 77.
The driver of the Jeep, 24-year-old Raizel Morgenstern, and her front passenger, 26-year-old Hindy Spira, died at the scene.
Two women in the back seat, Suri Mayerowitz and Miriam Meyer, were taken to nearby hospitals for treatment.
The four women are from Borough Park in Brooklyn.
The website onlysimchas.com reports the injured women suffered serious injuries, and that all four were on vacation together. The site also said Meyer's father is Rabbi Yanky Meyer with the Misaskim Organization, and has been working with the other families overnight.
The site also said a private jet has been
arranged to fly the women who died home to New York for the funerals.
Here is the info from that web page;
Two women from Boro Park were killed when the car they were traveling in collided with a tractor trailer. The accident occurred on 26 Menachem Av on Monday night in Arizona. [THE FOLLOWING PICTURE BELOW WAS TAKEN ON THE TRIP. ALL FOUR WOMEN WERE IN THE CAR AT THE TIME OF THE CRASH]
Two other Jewish women involved in the accident sustained serious injuries. The four women were on vacation when a vehicle veered from the opposite lane and crashed into them, after they were trying to make a left turn. Perhaps the Jewish female driver of the rental car is at fault here. We will see what the investigation says.
The names of the victims z”l are Hindy Spira and Raizel Morgenstern. Two other girls, identified as Suri Mayerowitz and Miriam Meyer, were also injured in the crash.
One occupant of the vehicle is Miriam bas Gittel , who has multiple fractures – including a spinal fracture. She is the daughter of Rabbi Yanky (Jack) Meyer, the founder of the Misaskim Organization. The other occupant who also is in need of teffilos is Faiga Sarah bas Bracha Chaya. Please be Mispallel for them as they need Rachamei Shomayim.
Misaskim has been working though the night with the families in Boro Park. A private jet has been arranged to fly the deceased to NY for the funerals.
The cause of the accident remains under investigation. The girls who were sitting in the front seat of the vehicle, were the two occupants who were killed.
Deputies from the Arizona police are combing the wreckage and should have a more comprehensive report as the day progresses.
Boruch Dayan HaEmmes
A video announcement was posted to YouTube: