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Eight Dead in NY Briarcliffe Manor, Taconic Parkway,

by Karl Gotthardt - albertacowpoke | July 26, 2009 at 12:59 pm

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A fatal three car crash has occurred in Briarcliffe Manor, NY. Eight people have died, including four children. The accident occurred on the Taconic Parkway, near Route 117 in Hawthorne in Westchester County.

State police said a minivan was heading the wrong way in the northbound lanes when it crashed head-on into an SUV. After the collision the van rolled down an embankment and was struck by another vehicle.

Police say three children riding in the minivan were killed along with the van’s driver."It was completely engulfed, with a woman who was burning," a police official said. "Several people were ejected, most of the children. We prioritized, and we were able to save one young child's life. It was rushed to the Westchester Medical Center

Three people in one of the other vehicles also were killed. Two people in the other vehicle survived the crash.

The victims were taken from the scene and into waiting vans, as police and firefighters stood nearby.

The cause of the crash has not yet been determined. Victims names have not been released.

The Taconic has been closed to traffic in both directions from Saw Mill Parkway to Pleasantville Road.

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THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

BRIARCLIFF, N.Y. -- New York state police say seven people have died in a three-car crash on a parkway in suburban New York City.

The crash occurred Sunday afternoon in Briarcliff.

The Journal News reports on its Web site at least seven people including three children were dead.

State police tell the Journal News a minivan was heading the wrong way in the northbound lanes when it crashed head-on into an SUV. A third vehicle also was involved.

BRIARCLIFF, N.Y. (AP) -- Police say a car crash on a parkway in suburban New York City has killed eight people, including four children.

State police tell the Journal News a minivan was heading the wrong way in the northbound lanes of the Taconic State Parkway in Briarcliff on Sunday afternoon when it crashed head on into an SUV. A third vehicle also was involved.

It was the second wrong-way crash on the parkway Sunday.

Police say four children riding in the minivan were killed along with the van's driver.

Three people in one of the other vehicles also were killed.

The parkway has been closed in the area in both directions.

Five people were injured in an accident hours earlier about 20 miles north.