March 20, 2023 The youth’s father said he and others warned him about driving without a permit.
Source Firehouse.com News
An unlicensed teen behind the wheel of an SUV involved in a fiery crashed that killed him and four other family members had been warned not to drive.
The sole survivor of the horrific crash early Sunday on the Hutchinson River Parkway, a nine-year-old boy was riding in the hatch of the Nissan Rogue, according to CBS2.
The vehicle veered off the road, struck a tree and caught fire.
In addition to Malik Smith, the 16-year-old driver, other victims were Anthony Billips Jr, 17; Andrew Billips, 8; Zahnyiah Cross, 12 and Shawnell Cross, 11.
Smith’s father told a reporter that he and others in the family knew he had been driving.
“…I told him, his mother told him, his older brothers told him, stop driving without a license, without a permit. Anything happens, you get pulled over, you get in trouble for these things. Stop doing this,” Malik Smith said.
The passengers in the vehicle were his son’s cousins.
“They wasn’t (sic) cousins, they were more brothers. Brothers and sisters, that’s how close they are,” Smith said, adding that the group enjoyed going to the mall together to hang out, get ice cream and go to movies.
Police say no other vehicles were involved.