Police ID 5 CT Children Killed In Fiery Crash

DERBY, CT — The five Derby children from the same family killed in a fiery car crash in the Hudson Valley early Sunday have been identified, officials confirmed to Patch. A nine-year-old boy was the sole survivor of the crash.

The children have been identified as Anthony Billips, 17, Malik Smith, 16, Zahnyiah Cross, 12, Shawnell Cross 11, and Andrew Billips, 8, officials said.

Six siblings and cousins were heading back home to Derby from a mall when the crash occurred around 12:20 a.m. Sunday, The Independent reported.

Derby Board of Education Chairman Jim Gildea, who spoke to Derby Public Schools Superintendent Matthew Conway, told the Valley Independent Sentinel that the family had recently moved to west Derby from New York and had not yet registered in the local school system.

“This is an absolute tragedy,” Gildea told the outlet. “We are initiating our grief crisis plans. They could have, of course, known people in the neighborhood. They were residents of our community, so the superintendent has been in touch with the administrative team to put those plans in place.”

The crash happened when a Nissan Rogue being driven by a 16-year-old boy veered off the Hutchinson River Parkway north of the Mamaroneck Road exit in Scarsdale, New York, and struck a boulder and then a tree and caught fire, according to the Westchester County Police Department. No other vehicles were found.

The Nissan Rogue was traveling at normal highway speeds when it veered off the road, Westchester County Executive George Latimer said at a news conference Monday.

The area where the accident happened on the parkway curves to the left and goes downhill, Latimer said.

There were no tire marks on the roadway and no evidence of braking, he said. Speed wasn't believed to have contributed to the wreck.

Investigators believe the driver, who did not have a New York driver’s license or learner's permit, was distracted or fell asleep, Latimer said.

The surviving child—9-year-old Abraham Billips—was riding in the cargo area of the SUV and escaped out the back, police said, adding the boy was taken to Westchester Medical Center with injuries that were not life-threatening.

Speaking about the children, the driver's father told CBS New York "They wasn't cousins, they were more brothers. Brothers and sisters, that's how close they are."

The father said his son lived in East New York, Brooklyn, and often spent weekends at the mall with his cousins who live in Connecticut.

"That's his thing. He goes to the mall. He goes to get his ice cream with his cousin. They go to the movies. They walk around the mall. They do what teenagers and kids do, you know. So that's, it's just, I didn't know he was driving by himself," the father said.

“Lord Jesus I don’t understand why you had to take our babies from us,” Nicole Cross, the mother of some of the victims, wrote on Facebook.

“Please give us the strength Lord God,” Cross added. “These kids didn’t deserve this like why is this happening please keep my family in your prayers... don’t know what to do or how to handle this God please help us.”

A GoFundMe campaign titled "Our 5 children" is seeking donations for funeral expenses.

The GoFundMe is organized by Da'Shawna Cross who wrote on the page, "we as parents lost 5 of our children in a very tragic accident and need help deeply with giving them a great home going service please anything will help we just want to put our babies to rest." Nearly $13,000 has been raised thus far.

Under New York state law, drivers under the age of 18 are prohibited from having more than one passenger, unless the passengers are members of their immediate family or there is a passenger older than 21 in the vehicle.

In Connecticut, a 16-year-old is prohibited from driving with passengers under the age of 20 and non-family members. Drivers under 18 also may not drive between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m., unless it is for employment, school, religious activity or medical necessity.

The crash remains under investigation.

Editor's Note: Patch is a GoFundMe promotional partner.