17-Year-Old Driver Thrown From Car in Accident, Dies

Authorities are investigating after a 17-year-old driver was ejected from his vehicle and died in an accident on Long Island Tuesday. 

Police say Anthony Fucci was driving a 1999 Honda Civic north on Lowell Avenue when he apparently lost control of his car and hit another car moving south on Satinwood Street. Fucci was pronounced dead at a hospital.

The driver of the other car, 33-year-old Vladimir Moreno and his 4- and 9-year-old sons, were taken to a hospital with minor injuries.

Both vehicles were impounded for safety checks.

Moreno returned to the crash scene Tuesday afternoon, feeling shaken up but fortunate.

"He was coming too fast," he said of the teen driver. 

Fucci's grandfather said he has "no idea what happened." The teen had been on his way from school.

"He loved working on cars," said Charles Fucci. "That was his thing. He was taking mechanics."

Police haven't said if speed contributed to the crash, but neighbors said many drivers take the curve at more than double the posted speed limit.

Fucci should not have been on the road alone in the first place, according to the DMV. Fucci only had a junior learners permit, meaning he should not have been behind the wheel without a licensed driver at least 21 years old with him, according to a DMV spokesman. 

"I feel bad for his family," said Moreno, who said Fucci was just being a teenager and that he wasn't trying to hurt him and his family. 

A neighbor said she will ask local officials to install a traffic light or stop sign to prevent another tragedy. 

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