One Person Is Dead After Major Two-Car Accident on Bear Mountain Parkway

A major collision between two cars on the Bear Mountain Parkway in Cortlandt Friday night has left one person dead and injured two others.

The accident, which happened just after 6 p.m., shut the roadway in both directions near Locust Avenue for several hours. 

 said three people — a driver and passenger in one car and a driver in another — were taken to the  and Westchester Medical Center respectively.

The 27-year-old passenger, a Lake Peekskill man, was seriously injured in the crash and was pronounced dead at the hospital. His identity has not yet been released pending family notification.

New York State Police investigator Sean Morgan said the accident occurred when a third vehicle tried to make a left turn off the Bear Mountain. That driver left the scene of accident and a witness described the vehicle as a white SUV, police said. Officials said the left turn was a legal turn since there was a break in the double yellow line. 

"The vehicle behind him had to come to a stop abruptly, but to avoid collision it swerved into oncoming traffic," he said. 

That's how the 56-year-old driver from Cortlandt struck the second vehicle operated by a 24-year-old Shrub Oak woman. 

The female driver sustained lacerations and abrasions to her face, while the male driver appeared to have sustained a head injury, which police said were not life threatening. 

It was not yet clear whether anyone would be charged in the crash.

Mohegan Volunteer Ambulance Corps, State Police and Westchester County Police also assisted. The State Police Collision Investigation Unit was on the scene to reconstruct the accident.

Anyone with more information about the third vehicle is asked to call State Police at 914-788-8044.

Editor's Note: The article has been updated since its original publication as more information became available.