Five people died in a Cross Island Parkway crash in Queens.
Driver Kazeem Ramsahai, 24, and four passengers were killed in a two-vehicle crash on the Cross Island Parkway at 5:52 a.m. on Jan. 1, 2024, according to the official record and police reporting.
Approximate reported location.
What We Know
Police reports differed on the vehicles' movements: FOX 5 said Ramsahai crossed a median from the Whitestone Expressway into the path of a Honda, while NY1 said he crossed a median from the parkway into an opposite lane where the Honda driver hit the Mazda. QNS reported another preliminary account in which Ramsahai collided with the Honda and the Mazda overturned.
The collision was near a Whitestone Expressway ramp.
The official record places the crash on the Cross Island Parkway at 5:52 a.m. on Jan. 1, 2024. amNewYork reported that it happened on the northbound parkway near the southbound Whitestone Expressway ramp in Whitestone, Queens.
The five people killed were identified in police reports.
Police identified the Mazda driver as Kazeem Ramsahai, 24, of Raeford, North Carolina. FOX 5 named the four passengers as Mario Ocampo, 30; Dayanara Benitez-Ocampo, 19; Salma Garcia-Diaz, 23; and Jordy Bentances, 20, all from Queens.
Three passengers shared a Jackson Heights home.
QNS reported that Mario, Dayanara and Salma lived in the same Jackson Heights home, and that Jordy lived in LeFrak City in Corona. QNS spelled the names Mario Campo, Dayanara Benitez-Campo and Jordy Betances, and said an NYPD spokeswoman did not know whether Mario and Dayanara were related.
Police reports described a Mazda and a Honda.
The official record lists a 2018 Mazda sedan and a 2023 Honda in the category “Station Wagon/Sport Utility Vehicle.” FOX 5 identified the Honda as a Pilot SUV and described it as white; the report described the Mazda as blue.
Reports differed on how the vehicles reached the collision.
FOX 5, citing police, reported that Ramsahai was driving north on the Whitestone Expressway when he crossed the center median into the northbound Cross Island Parkway lanes. FOX 5 said the Mazda came into the path of a Honda that was traveling onto the exit ramp.
NY1 reported a different route: Ramsahai was on the Cross Island Parkway before crossing a median into the opposite lane, where the Honda driver hit the Mazda. QNS described a preliminary account in which Ramsahai collided with the Honda and the Mazda overturned, trapping its five occupants.
The Honda driver was taken to a hospital.
amNewYork, FOX 5 and QNS reported that police said all five Mazda occupants were pronounced dead at the scene. NY1 said they were pronounced dead after the crash without specifying where.
FOX 5 reported that the 63-year-old Honda driver was taken to NewYork-Presbyterian Queens with neck and back injuries and was in critical but stable condition. amNewYork reported critical condition, NY1 reported stable condition, and QNS also reported critical but stable condition. Reports said no arrests had been made and the investigation was ongoing.