CounterVortex

Yet more sacrifices for the American way of life. From Newsday, July 10:

Five dead in Bronx multiple-vehicle crash

In a deadly crash that killed two half-brothers, their uncle, his 8-year-old daughter and a family friend, and left two others severely injured, an out-of-control sedan jumped the center median of the Bronx River Parkway and caused a three-car pileup on the other side of the highway, officials and witnesses said.

The horrific, crash slowed traffic on the highway for miles as scores of drivers stepped out of their cars to offer help to injured passengers on the shoulder. Some surveyed a crumpled green Acura Legend that family members said was returning from a basketball game.

“There were signs of life [in the Acura] but you couldn’t get them out of the car,” said Kristyn Weeks, a flight attendant who called 911. “A couple of people were moving, but not necessarily conscious.”

Four people in the Acura — Derrick Gardener, 40; his daughter, Asia Gardener, 8; her cousin, Jemell Gardener, 15, all of the Bedford Park section of the Bronx; and a family friend Brandon Daye, 18, were declared dead on the scene, officials said.

The driver of the Acura, Keywann Gardener, 23, of the Bronx, a brother of Jemell and Brandon, was pronounced dead at Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx, officials said.

Two other passengers in the car were in critical condition: Howie Male, 18, a family friend, along with another unidentified man, relatives said at the hospital.

“I feel like I’m going to die right now,” Everald Williams, the father of Jamell Williams, said outside the hospital as the teen’s mother, Sandra Gardener, fell to her knees. “I love him, I worship him very much.”

“He was just like me,” Williams said. “If you saw him, you saw me. He loved boxing, basketball. He loved to read and write. He was very intelligent.”

The accident occurred at 2:30 p.m., between exits 5 and 6 of the Bronx River Parkway along the green topiary of the Bronx Zoo, as the Acura, headed south on the expressway, approached a patch of trafficandattempted to slow down, police said. It was not immediately clear how fast the car was going, but the Acura climbed onto a 2-foot-high concrete road divider and slid on top of it for 200 feet before crashing into a utility pole that also sat atop the median, police said.

The Acura then traveled across three lanes of traffic, witnesses said, before it crashed into an Access-A-Ride van. Parts of the utility pole fell on a Lincoln Town car livery cab that was carrying three passengers.

“It fell off with the foundation and concrete and everything and hit my car, then slid 10 or 15 feet,” said Edwin Williamson Jr., 19, of Orange County, N.J., a passenger in the livery cab who spoke to a reporter at Jacobi Hospital.

The livery cab in turn struck the back of the van, police and witnesses said.

Williamson was not injured, but the driver of the cab and two passengers were treated for neck and back injuries, police said. The driver of the unoccupied van suffered minor injuries, police said.

Behind the van, a blue Toyota Corolla driven by Genine Forese, 26, carrying two of her friends, had little chance of avoiding the pileup, police and witnesses said. It avoided the van, but wedged into the Acura, which lay beside the southbound shoulder with its roof sheared off.

“She saw a lot of debris and then a van was in front of her,” the victim’s father, Robert Forese, said outside the hospital, describing his daughter’s accident. His daughter, who was on her way home at the time, was in stable condition with minor injuries.

“I broke down shaking and crying when I heard that four people died,” said Joanne Forese, her mother. “I couldn’t believe it.”

Police officials did not immediately determine who was at fault in the crash, which remains under investigation. No summoses were issued.

On the Bronx River Parkway, witnesses said that dozens of drivers stopped to offer bottled water, cell phones or words of comfort to those injured.

“I saw all the cars piled up, and more and more cars behind them, and the citizens came out of the cars to try to help,” said Williamson, who was visiting family members in the Bronx.

When told how many had died, Williamson said: “Oh, my God.”

See more reasons WHY WE FIGHT.