Indian origin mother, 2 children killed in New York crash

New York, Aug 5 (IANS) A woman of Indian origin and her son and daughter were killed when their car was hit by a tractor-trailer truck on a New York State highway, according to media reports.

Five other family members were injured in the crash on Monday that also involved a second car in which the group was travelling, the New York Post reported quoting police.

Zulika Gayapersad, 47, and her children Justin, 10, and Chelsea, 14, were killed when the truck driven by a Canadian hit their Honda Accord from the rear, CBS New York TV reported on Wednesday.

Another son of Gayapersad, Aamir Jagdeo told the channel: “We’re literally shaken to the core, can’t function, can’t move.”

A five-year-old child in the second car, a Kia Sedona, miraculously escaped unhurt, MidHudsonNews reported. Its driver, Maheshwarnauth Karan, 26, did not require treatment.

The driver of the Honda, Neta Singh, 24, and front-seat passenger, Saleena Singh, 18, were hospitalised, near Bloomington, about 150 km from the city, MidhudsonNews reported.

But Ramarine Singh, 48, who was in the Kia, was seriously injured requiring to be airlifted to a hospital and two others, Sangeeta Singh, 27, and Saleema Salim, 45, were also hospitalised.

All those in the two cars were family members living in the Bronx in New York City and had come from Trinidad and Guyana, CBS New York said.

MidHudsonNews said that traffic had been stopped on the highway when the truck hit the Honda and pushed it for about 150 metres and it slammed into the Kia.

–IANS

al/vd