Speed kills indiscriminately. A black 300-hp all-wheel-drive Subaru Impreza STI travelling at a high rate of speed in West Hempstead, NY, lost control before colliding into a tree, tearing the sports car in half. Four 18-year-old passengers were killed on the scene. The driver, a 17-year-old carrying a learner's permit, was taken to the hospital.
The accident occured at 4 a.m. on the Southern State Parking heading westbound, closing the roadway for more than five hours. A violent crash that sent shockwaves across the quiet neighborhood, Amy Buchanan living on Taylor Road just 50 yards from the wreck described the occurance as, "Just a loud boom."
Stressing the dangers of navigating unfamiliar roads at excessive speeds, "I've lived here for 10 years and there has been an accident almost in that exact spot every year, but never as one as horrific as this."
The 17-year-old driver of the Subaru has been identified by New York State Police as Joseph Beer (no alcohol was involved in the incident) of Queens, NY. The four passengers killed in the accident were not immediately identified, but responders did say that the brutal impact had thrown the victims from the car.
Responders removed the front and rear halves of the STI separately onto a flatbed during an extensive cleanup that took the good part of nearly six hours. The West Hempstead section of Southern State Parkway reopened just before 10 a.m. Monday.
While the Subaru Impreza STI and Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution are incredibly capable performance cars, inexperienced drivers can easily get into serious trouble when they underestimate the dangers and overestimate their abilities. To buyers looking to buy one of these bad boys, good luck on the insurance rates.
Check out ABC's on-scene video coverage below:
