A teen from Brooklyn went and visited his mother for Christmas, giving her a silver bracelet. Roughly 24 hours later, he was dead and she held the bracelet tightly, the last memento of their time together.
The young man, who was just 17 years old, got into a car with his friend, who was 22. That friend had been drinking, but was driving his 2004 Mazda sedan despite being intoxicated.
He lost control of the small car, slamming into a curb. The car then hit a fire hydrant and a light pole. It rolled over and caught on fire.
This all happened right around 1 a.m. Emergency crews responded as quickly as they could, but the two teens were trapped in the burning vehicle for about 20 minutes. The teen was unresponsive and unconscious when the firefighters finally pulled him out. They took him to New York Presbyterian Lower Manhattan Hospital, where he passed away.
Reports indicate that the vehicle was speeding at the time of the crash. It hit the fire hydrant with enough force not just to flip the car, but to rip that hydrant from the cement.
The driver lived through the accident. He did complain about chest pain, but some officers thought he was merely stalling. They brought him to Bellevue Hospital, where his condition is stable.
Tragic accidents happen in a split second. When loved ones are killed due to recklessness and negligence, a family may never be the same. It’s very important for those who have lost a loved one to know all of their legal rights.
Source: NY Daily News, “Teen passenger killed after drunken pal flips car in Chinatown, just hours after happy Christmas visit with mom,” Thomas Tracy, accessed Dec. 28, 2017