Police say two people died and one person was critically injured after their car veered off a Bronx parkway and slammed into a tree, splitting the car in half and ejecting two passengers.
Investigators believe the car, a Mini Cooper, was speeding south on the Bronx River Parkway at about 4:15 a.m. when it went airborne and left the road, according to the NYPD.
The car hit a tree and split in half, police say. The driver and a passenger in the front seat were both ejected from the car on impact, with the rear passenger remaining in the back seat.
The vehicle then caught fire, police say.
The person in the back seat was pronounced dead when authorities arrived at the scene, and the two other passengers were taken to Jacobi Medical Center. One of them was pronounced dead at the hospital; the other is listed in critical condition.
At least two of the three victims are in their 20s.
Investigators are looking into whether the Mini Cooper driver was drag racing.
The Bronx River Parkway's southbound lanes were closed between Exit 2 West at Watson Avenue and Exit 2 at the Bruckner Expressway after the crash. They reopened several hours later.
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