The driver who plunged his grandmother's car into the Steinway Creek on Friday night, killing his four passengers, was apparently speeding—and had no idea there was a dead end on the street. A police source told the Daily News that Andrew Gramm, 20, "was traveling at a speed not appropriate for the conditions. He didn’t know it was a dead end until the last minute. When he realizes it, he tries to make a turn. He starts to skid sideways."

Gramm had been driving his friends Darius Fletcher, 21; Jada Butts, 19; Crystal Gravely, 19; and Jaleel Furtado, 20 from a birthday party in Astoria (Butts would have turned 20 today) back to their homes in East Elmhurst. According to the Post, Gramm said he was going about 60 MPH on 19th Avenue, with a source saying, "He said he was going fast and planning to make a U-turn."

Gramm, 20, blew past two signs reading “Dead End,” and then barreled through the windswept rain down the dark block where 19th Avenue meets the creek’s embankment.

But as he tried to make his ­U-turn, the car struck the curb and he lost control, sources said.
The car then either skidded on its side into the creek, or went airborne directly into the water, sources said.

The car landed upside down, sinking immediately. Unable to escape, the victims drowned in water only 8 feet deep.

Gramm's window was open, so he was able to climb out and call 911 just after 10:30 p.m. However, the rescue operation took a while and the first passenger wasn't pulled out until after 11 p.m. A FDNY battalion chief said, "The roof was on the bottom of the creek, and the bottom of the car was about eight feet under water."

The four victims were all college students: Fletcher had been studying communications at William Patterson University; Furtado attended St. Peter’s College; and Butts and Gravely were at Borough of Manhattan Community College. Fletcher's mother was bereft, "He just always did the right thing - he was in school, he was a senior and was going to graduate next year," and Gravely's aunt voiced a similar sentiment to the News, "Everybody is devastated. She always did the right thing. She wanted to do something with herself, to be a better person."

A friend of Fletcher's told the Times yesterday, "If you make a left and go down two blocks, then you are at the creek. Usually the creek is very shallow, but it was raining last night, so it was very deep." He added, "It’s not like they were bad kids. They just went to school, hung out and literally lived a good life. These are kids who literally loved each other."

Reports say that Gramm was not drunk or high. Additionally, the Post notes that there was no guardrail at the dead end: "A metal guardrail that used to protect that spot apparently collapsed long ago, and lies there covered with rust and vines... Officials are looking into why the guardrail was down, a city Department of Transportation spokesman said." A concrete barrier was placed there.