Authorities have released the names of the five people who died in a high-speed car wreck on Queens' Cross Island Parkway a day ago.
Kazeem Ramsahai, a 24-year-old from North Carolina, was driving a Mazda sedan north on the highway "at a high rate of speed" when it flipped, law enforcement sources said.
Police responded to the 6 a.m. crash near Exit 6 and found a Honda SUV, also heading north, had struck the Mazda. The Honda driver was expected to be OK.
Everyone in Ramsahai's Mazda died. That includes 30-year-old Mario Ocampo, 19-year-old Dayanara Benitez Ocampo, 23-year-old Salma Garcia-Diaz and 20-year-old Jordy Bentances. All four passengers were from Queens.
Their relationship to each other wasn't immediately clear. It's also not clear if authorities believe drugs or alcohol may have played a role.
Neighbors say that particular spot has seen its fair share of accidents.
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"This is not the first or second time that this has occurred on this bend. They call it the dead man’s curve for a reason," Whitestone resident Mike DiMarco said.
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"We’ve been asking for blinker lights and warn people the dangers that occur because people who’ve never traveled this road, they look at it and by the time it comes on you can’t react to it," Frank Steele, who also lives nearby, said.
