SCARSDALE, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) — A woman was killed and two other people were badly hurt in a wrong-way crash on the Hutchinson River Parkway early Sunday.
As CBS2’s Brian Conybeare reported, police said as of last Sunday, it was too early to confirm whether drugs or alcohol were involved.
Following the crash, a mangled, twisted husk was all that was left of the gray sport-utility vehicle that Westchester County police confirmed was headed south in the northbound lanes of the Hutchinson Parkway early Sunday morning.
Police said the woman was driving a Kia Sorrento with a female passenger going the wrong way on the highway near the Weaver Street exit in Scarsdale around 4:30 a.m. when she collided head-on with a Land Rover heading northbound.
Responding units pronounced the driver dead at the scene. The passenger in the Sorrento was undergoing surgery late Sunday and remained in critical condition.
The driver of the Land Rover — a man in his 30’s — is in serious condition with non-life-threatening injuries.
A third vehicle – a black sedan – apparently swerved into the woods to avoid the smashed vehicles. The driver of the sedan was not hurt.
“I heard a horrible crash,” said one Scarsdale resident named Evan. “Within a minute or so after that, I heard a second really loud crash, and then I called 911.”
Evan said he was letting his dog out when he heard the impact. Investigators spent hours scouring the scene for evidence – taking measurements and trying to determine exactly how it happened.
Late Sunday, investigators did not know where the woman got on the parkway going the wrong direction.
There have been multiple wrong-way crashes on Westchester County roads in recent years, leading for some to call for increased signage and other safety improvements.
“Anything they can do to make the roads safer would be a great thing,” Evan said. “It’s a real tragedy what happened here last night.”
The northbound lanes of the Hutchinson River Parkway near Weaver Street in Scarsdale were back open early Sunday evening, after being closed for 11 hours.
Most of the drunk-related crashes occur in the early a.m. hours, like this one. Two females driving the wrong way at 4:00 am during the weekend provide plenty of support for the opinion that these two women were completely drunk.
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A driver heading in the wrong direction on the northbound Hutchinson River Parkway was killed in a head-on crash this morning, police said. Two others were injured.
A woman driving a 2014 Kia Sorento with Connecticut plates was driving southbound on the northbound side of the Hutch around 4:30 a.m. when her car crashed into a 2008 Land Rover, county police spokesman Kieran O'Leary said.
The scene from a crash on the Hutchinson Parkway northbound that occurred at 5 a.m. Sunday morning. As of 2 p.m., the road was still closed. (Photo: Carrie Yale/The Journal News)
The driver, who was found dead at the scene, hasn't been identified. A passenger in that vehicle, a woman in her late 30s, was in surgery at Westchester Medical Center as of 9 a.m., O'Leary said. She was listed in critical condition.
The driver of the Land Rover has "serious" injuries but they weren't expected to be life threatening, police said.
A 2012 Mercedes was also involved in the accident and had been driven off the road. It wasn't clear if the car had contact with the other vehicles or had swerved to avoid collision. The driver of the Mercedes, a 57-year-old man, declined medical treatment at the scene, police said.
At 8 a.m., the Kia faced traffic on the right side of the roadway and the Land Rover lay partially on the median in the middle of the parkway. The Mercedes was off the road to the right of the roadway.
Both lanes of the parkway were closed until almost 3 p.m. as Westchester County police investigated. All traffic was being sent off Exit 21.