Two women killed in fiery Staten Island Expressway crash
Driver Jianna Pischetola and passenger Gabriella Shammas died in a crash recorded at 11:02 p.m. Sept. 3 on the Staten Island Expressway; CBS, citing police, reported that the driver hit a barrier before the Corvette overturned, struck a Ford pickup and caught fire.
Location reported in Open Data.
What We Know
Driver Jianna Pischetola and passenger Gabriella Shammas died in the Sept. 3 crash recorded at 11:02 p.m. on the eastbound Staten Island Expressway. City records list two fatalities, while reports differ on the collision sequence, whether a pickup was involved and the driver's description.
Police accounts disagree on key details
CBS, citing police, placed the barrier strike near Hylan Boulevard and said the Corvette overturned, hit a Ford pickup and caught fire. The Daily News placed the guardrail crash near Clove Road and described the car flipping, hitting a pickup, skidding and then catching fire; it also reported that Shammas was ejected.
Fox 5 reported that the Corvette hit a guardrail and caught fire, but said no other vehicles were involved. CBS and the Daily News reported pickup involvement.
Fox 5 described the driver as a 21-year-old man, while the city record lists a 22-year-old woman driving and a 22-year-old female passenger. The Daily News identified the driver as Jianna Pischetola and the passenger as Gabriella Shammas. El Diario described a 22-year-old male driver and said the passenger was presumed to be 22.
CBS and the Daily News said both women were pronounced dead at the scene; Fox 5 said they were pronounced dead on arrival. The reports differ on where their deaths were confirmed.
Friends and family remembered the women
The Daily News reported that Shammas lived in Dyker Heights, Brooklyn, and had earned a psychology degree from Brooklyn College the previous week. She planned to pursue a master's degree. Sara Diangelis, the mother of Shammas' boyfriend, said Shammas and Anthony Diangelis were supposed to be engaged. She also described Shammas as close to her two brothers and as her daughter's longtime best friend; Shammas had been excited about becoming an aunt to the daughter's expected baby.
Pischetola lived in Midland Beach on Staten Island, the Daily News reported. A funeral fundraiser described her as "a dynamo" who "lived with gusto" and as a champion of the underdog.
Reports describe the vehicles differently
CBS and the Daily News identified the women's car as a Chevrolet Corvette; the city record classifies the 2023 Chevrolet as a sedan. CBS described the other vehicle as a Ford pickup, and the city record lists a 2018 Ford in the crash.
Eastbound lanes reopened the next morning
CBS reported that eastbound lanes reopened Monday morning. Fox 5 said the investigation was ongoing, and El Diario reported that no charges had been filed as of its report.
Where
STATEN ISLAND EXPRESSWAY