High speed. Driver inexperience. A blown stop sign.
Those three factors contributed to a "horrific" car crash in Westbury Tuesday afternoon, according to Nassau county police.
Francesco Posillico, 17 of Westbury was killed in the two-car crash. He was the driver of a 2006 BMW that ran a stop sign at high speed and smashed into a 2008 Chevy Cobalt, said Nassau police.
The out of control BMW then cut a utility pole into pieces before striking a tree and flipping on its hood.
Posillico was thrown from the car at the intersection of Salisbury Road and Bowling Green Drive in Westbury. Two other teens in Posillico's car were injured.
One, Joseph Scapperotta, 16, is a junior firefighter with the Westbury fire department. According to police, Scapperotta's father, also a firefighter, responded to the accident scene, unaware his son was involved.
Scapperotta suffered spinal injuries and is hospitalized in serious condition.
Daniel Roche, 16 was the other passenger injured in the BMW. He remains in an induced coma at a Nassau county hospital, listed in critical but stable condition with a skull fracture and spinal injuries.
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All three teens at students at Clarke high school in Westbury. Grief counselors have been made available to students there.
"Alcohol or drugs appeared to play no role in the crash," said Nassau police Det. Lieutenant Ray Cote.
The driver of the other car, a 24-year-old woman whose identity has not been released, suffered only minor injuries.
The BMW appears to have been a Christmas gift to Posillico.
"It was registered just five days before Christmas," said Cote.
Posillico had only been a licensed driver since August, 2010, and, according to police, had been involved in two other accidents involving property damage.
Reconstruction experts are now trying to determine the BMW's speed prior to the crash, added Cote.
