Five children died Sunday in Scarsdale, New York, after the group’s van crashed into a tree and caught fire just after midnight.
According to local police, the vehicle was being driven by a 16-year-old boy who went off the road for unknown reasons and hit a tree in Westchester County.
A nine-year-old boy who was traveling in the ‘rear/cargo area’ managed to survive the crash and escape from the vehicle.
The parents of the five children, whose ages ranged from eight to 17, posted heartbreaking tributes on social media Sunday afternoon.
“This is the most painful post I have ever had to write in my life,” Father Anthony Bilips said in a Facebook post. ‘We don’t want this to happen to anyone in this world.’
Family members posted this image of the three children, all related, to a GoFundMe after they were killed in the car crash.
Five children died Sunday in Scarsdale, New York, after the group’s van crashed into a tree and caught fire just after midnight.
One of the victims (pictured) was posted online by bereaved family members after the fire accident.
According to WABC, police said the 16-year-old behind the wheel may have fallen asleep, causing him and the Nissan Rogue to go off the road.
After hitting the tree, the car caught fire, killing the driver, three boys and two girls, all from Derby, Connecticut.
The names of the children and their respective ages are unknown at this time.
“They’re all teenagers or younger, sadly,” O’Leary. saying.
While speaking to the media, Westchester police spokesman Kieran O’Leary said the only boy who survived was able to “get out the back somehow.”
The 9-year-old boy who survived was taken to Westchester Medical Center.
He was in stable condition Sunday afternoon.
The accident remains under investigation as the family mourns the losses.
In social media posts, the family has asked friends and loved ones for prayers and thoughts during this difficult time.
“Lord Jesus, I don’t understand why you had to take our babies away from us,” wrote Nicole Cross, who said her children died in the crash.
“Please give us the strength, Lord God,” Cross said.
‘These children did not deserve this, why is this happening? Please keep my family in your prayers…I don’t know what to do or how to handle this God please help us,’ the grieving woman wrote.
“This is the most painful post I have ever had to write in my life,” Father Anthony Bilips said in a Facebook post. He is understood to be the father of some of the five children who died.
According to WABC, police said the 16-year-old behind the wheel may have fallen asleep, causing him and the Nissan Rogue to go off the road.
After hitting a tree, the car caught fire, killing the driver, three boys and two girls, all from Derby, Connecticut.
The family has also started a GoFundMe to help cover the funeral expenses of the five children who were murdered.
“I’m doing a fundraiser to help bury our children we lost,” wrote Da’Shawna Cross, who identifies herself as one of the mothers of the slain children.
“We as parents lost 5 of our children in a very tragic accident and need a lot of help to provide them with excellent in-home service,” the fundraiser description reads.
The GoFundMe has a goal of $50,000 and is at just over $6,500 as of Sunday night.
“Please, anything will help, we just want our babies to rest,” the mother writes in her heartbreaking plea. ,
Since then, the donation section has been flooded with people who have left their thoughts and prayers for the family.
‘I can’t even imagine the pain this family is going through. I pray that God helps them find peace and healing,” wrote one person.
‘May your memories be a blessing,’ said another person who left a donation.
‘You and your family are in my prayers…God bless you,’ wrote one person.
In a statement to WABC, the superintendent of the local Connecticut school district where the family lives called the event “the unimaginable.”
Superintendent Matt Conway said he reached out to one parent to offer condolences and resources if the family needs it.
It is the unimaginable. Having to make arrangements now for five of your children to be buried is a very difficult thing for anyone — one child, never mind five that you will have to make arrangements for now,” Conway said.
According Business Insiderthe city where the accident occurred is the exclusive Scarsdale, a town of about 18,000 inhabitants.
In 2020, the city had a median household income of $452,000, making it the second-richest city in the US that year, behind only a city in nearby Silicon Valley.
Scarsdale is located just 35 miles north of New York City.
