Families are still grieving over the horrific crash on the Long Island Expressway that claimed two lives. Taxi driver Mohammed Hussain, 46, and tourist from Utah Suzanne Nicholson, 60, were killed in the 12:30 a.m. accident while Nicholson's 11-year-old grandson was critically injured. It turns out that Nicholson shielded Gabriel Larsen with her body and the boy's father says, "It’s a miracle if you ask me." But the parents, who flew to New York, haven't told him the terrible news yet.
Hussain had picked up Nicholson and Larsen from JFK Airport on Friday and apparently lost control during a rainstorm on the LIE near 66th St. in Elmhurst after midnight. The taxi struck the rear of a 1995 grey Porsche—the Porsche rolled onto its driver's side, while the yellow cab flipped toward the right shoulder. A garbage truck was unable to stop and smacked into the taxi. Gabriel suffered broken ribs, a fractured collarbone, a punctured lung and a concussion.
Nicholson was bringing Gabriel to New York as a special birthday treat: They were going to Yankee Stadium, the Statue of Liberty and the American Museum of Natural History. Dean Larsen said his son and Nicholson "were best friends, always texting and calling each other. I’m sure he’ll be very devastated. We haven’t even thought about when or how to bring it up." But he added, "He’s going to be fine. He was saying he wanted to go to the Yankees game."
Hussain leaves behind a wife and two sons (ages 9 years and 14 months) and a friend described her as devastated. The truck driver told the News, "The car on the left kept coming in the lane. I blew the horn and he left. Then, I see this cab in front of me. I hit the brakes and skidded, and after that I lost control... My truck went right into the barrier and hit the barrier wall and stopped. If I was going any faster my truck would have turned over... Two people lost their lives... I don’t know if I'll ever be all right.”
