Wrong Way Driver on Long Island Kills 4 in Head-On Collison
In September 2020, a North Massapequa crash killed four people and critically injured one. It was a horrific wrong-way head-on collision on the Southern State Parkway. The accident involved three vehicles and one motorcycle, and resulted in at least 2 of the vehicles catching fire.
Moments before the devastating crash, someone called 911 about a driver going the wrong way on the parkway. The offending car was a Toyota sedan driving West in the eastbound lanes when it crashed head-on into a Nissan Rogue SUV with four passengers. Another vehicle, attempting to avoid the accident, crashed into the Toyota sedan. A motorcycle also trying to avoid the wreckage hit debris from the collision instead and crashed.
Marvin Balcaseres, a 33-year-old male from Farmingdale and the driver of the Toyota sedan, was pronounced dead at the crash scene. Three other people in the Nissan Rogue SUV also died: 67-year-old Ruben Sanchez-Florez, 57-year-old Edith Magana, and 34-year-old Ivis Sanchez-Cordova.
This is not the first time a head-on collision happened near this section of the Southern State Parkway. The area is known to some locals as the “Blood Alley.” In fact, Blood Alley runs for a 10 mile stretch between exit 17 in Malverne and Exit 32 in Amityville. This stretch is largely the reason that the Southern State is the deadliest state parkway in the country according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. https://www.nhtsa.gov
Other Serious Accidents and Deaths on the Southern State Parkway
In 2012, a 17-year-old boy slammed into a set of trees within the area, causing four 18-year-old passengers to die. In 2015, a father, together with his two kids, was killed due to a rear-end collision with an intoxicated man.
Experts and the public have criticized the structure of the Southern State Parkway for decades. Politicians have pushed for a stringent study on how to improve the entrance and exit ramps of the highway and other aspects of the road that are considered dangerous. Yet, the Southern State Parkway remains the site of far too many fatal Long Island car accidents.
Suffering Personal Injuries From a Multi-vehicle Collision
Head-on collision accidents are more common than you think. In 2015, more than 7,000 deaths were caused by head-on crashes. That is more than 50% of all deaths attributed to frontal crashes.
Head-on crashes are highly likely to inflict severe personal injuries. The direct impact and force of head-on crashes result in some of the most catastrophic injuries we see.
Who Might Be At Fault in a Head-on Car Accident?
The answer is really ‘it depends.’ But much of the time, head on collisions result from a driver driving the wrong way down a one-way street, on the wrong side of the road, or veering across the divider into oncoming traffic.
Whether the driver is intoxicated, asleep, or just a terrible driver, someone driving on the wrong side of the road who causes a head-on collision is often negligent or reckless. In many accidents, the party not following the rules of the road can be liable for the injuries that result from an accident.
Call Our Personal Injury Lawyers Today!
Call our Long Island car accident lawyers if you were hurt in an accident on the Southern State Parkway or any other New York road. Our personal injury lawyers can help you collect the maximum damages allowed by law.
Call Levine and Wiss, PLLC, today at 888-GOT-HURT (888-468-4878) to learn more about how our personal injury lawyers can help you collect damages when negligence causes your injuries in a car accident.
