A car carrying a group of friends, who were celebrating a woman's 19th birthday, plunged into Steinway Creek in the Astoria section of Queens on Friday. According to the NY Post, "The 20-year-old driver escaped the Honda Accord and called 911, but his four passengers — two men aged 20 and 21 plus the birthday girl and another woman — all died after rescue divers pulled them from the submerged car."
Police say they responded to a 911 call about a car in the water at 10:37 p.m. last night. When they got to 19th Avenue and 37th Street, they found the 2009 Honda Accord in the Long Island Sound with a 20-year-old man, the driver, on the road. Apparently he was able to get out while his four passengers were still inside.
The Daily News reports that the car "careened through a 3-foot high chain-link fence and rolled over into" the creek. Police said it hit the curb and continued into the bay. Per the News, "The driver placed the call at around 10:36 p.m., and rescue workers first arrived roughly six minutes later, officials said."
Divers broke open windows and pulled out the first body at 11:10 p.m. Two female passengers and a male passenger were taken to Elmhurst General Hospital, where they were pronounced dead. The other male passenger was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
One woman, who identified herself as the mother of the male taken to Elmhurst, told the News, "He wasn't driving, it wasn't his car. He was with friends. They were supposed to be going to some restaurant for their friend's birthday."
The driver, who had borrowed the car from his grandmother, had blown a 0.00 on the Breathalyzer, according to the Post. The crash is still being investigated by the police.
