A return trip to Buffalo from Florida ended tragically this morning, when a minivan packed with 10 people crashed into a dump truck east of Silver Creek, killing two adults and a baby.
The victims were the 27-year-old man driving the minivan, who has been identified at Luis Arroyo; the 29-year-old woman sitting in the front passenger seat, Christieann L. Gonzalez; and the one-month old baby boy, Luis Jr.
Arroyo was the father of the infant and one of the other children who was injured.
Eight others were injured in the crash, most of them children ages 2 to 13 years old, who were taken to Women & Children’s Hospital, said Capt. Douglas Montijo with the State Police.
They are: Adrianna Arroyo, 6; Yarmaris Rodriguez, 8; and Alexandra Rodriguez, 13. Those three are in critical condition, hospital officials said.
Three others, Jaicob Gonzalez, 2; Jaiden Gonzalez, 4; and Alexis Rodriguez Jr., 10, are in stable condition, hospital officials said.
The next 24 hours are critical for the three kids in intensive care, but right now doctors are hopeful, said Dr. Kathryn Bass, director of the Western New York Regional Pediatric Trauma Center at Women & Children’s Hospital, who provided an update during a news conference at the hospital this afternoon.
The other adult passenger in the minivan, Jessica Gonzalez, 24, was at Erie County Medical Center, where she underwent surgery this afternoon.
The deadly crash happened a little after 7:30 a.m. on the eastbound Thruway in the Town of Brant, near the Silver Creek interchange, Montijo said during a late-morning press conference.
The passenger van was carrying a total of 10 people – three adults and seven children – when it drifted off the traffic lanes and hit a state Thruway Authority dump truck parked in the median, Montijo said.
The dump truck was slowly following behind workers picking up trash, the captain said.
“For reasons unknown, the vehicle drifted off the road onto the median and ran into the Thruway dump truck,” Montijo said.
The minivan was at traveling speed when it struck the dump truck, leaving investigators to believe the driver never tried to brake and may have fallen asleep at the wheel.
“It’s pretty consistent with driver fatigue,” Montijo said of the accident scene. “We don’t know that for sure until an autopsy rules out any medical condition with the driver.”
The driver and infant died at the scene.
His 30-year-old passenger later died at the hospital, but was conscious when first responders arrived at the scene. She said they had been returning to the Buffalo area from Florida, Montijo said.
The van was packed with pillows, blankets and baby formula, he added.
Investigators are still trying to sort out how the 10 people in the van are connected. It appears there were at least two related families traveling together in the late-model minivan, Montijo said.
Also unclear is whether or not the infant was in a car seat.
“We’re not clear on that,” Montijo said. “There were more children than car seats.”
The others injured included a female adult traveling in the minivan, six children ages 2 to 13, and the driver of the dump truck, who fractured his wrist, Montijo said.
The accident, reported at 7:37 a.m., occurred approximately four miles east of Exit 58/Silver Creek. Eastbound lanes remain closed between Silver Creek and Exit 57A/Eden-Angola.
After the accident, UNYTS, which supplies blood for several area hospitals, issued a call for donors because of a need for blood for the surviving victims. Anyone interested in donating blood can call 512-7940 or stop by a UNYTS donation center.
email: jrey@buffnews.com
and mmiller@buffnews.com
The victims were the 27-year-old man driving the minivan, who has been identified at Luis Arroyo; the 29-year-old woman sitting in the front passenger seat, Christieann L. Gonzalez; and the one-month old baby boy, Luis Jr.
Arroyo was the father of the infant and one of the other children who was injured.
Eight others were injured in the crash, most of them children ages 2 to 13 years old, who were taken to Women & Children’s Hospital, said Capt. Douglas Montijo with the State Police.
They are: Adrianna Arroyo, 6; Yarmaris Rodriguez, 8; and Alexandra Rodriguez, 13. Those three are in critical condition, hospital officials said.
Three others, Jaicob Gonzalez, 2; Jaiden Gonzalez, 4; and Alexis Rodriguez Jr., 10, are in stable condition, hospital officials said.
The next 24 hours are critical for the three kids in intensive care, but right now doctors are hopeful, said Dr. Kathryn Bass, director of the Western New York Regional Pediatric Trauma Center at Women & Children’s Hospital, who provided an update during a news conference at the hospital this afternoon.
The other adult passenger in the minivan, Jessica Gonzalez, 24, was at Erie County Medical Center, where she underwent surgery this afternoon.
The deadly crash happened a little after 7:30 a.m. on the eastbound Thruway in the Town of Brant, near the Silver Creek interchange, Montijo said during a late-morning press conference.
The passenger van was carrying a total of 10 people – three adults and seven children – when it drifted off the traffic lanes and hit a state Thruway Authority dump truck parked in the median, Montijo said.
The dump truck was slowly following behind workers picking up trash, the captain said.
“For reasons unknown, the vehicle drifted off the road onto the median and ran into the Thruway dump truck,” Montijo said.
The minivan was at traveling speed when it struck the dump truck, leaving investigators to believe the driver never tried to brake and may have fallen asleep at the wheel.
“It’s pretty consistent with driver fatigue,” Montijo said of the accident scene. “We don’t know that for sure until an autopsy rules out any medical condition with the driver.”
The driver and infant died at the scene.
His 30-year-old passenger later died at the hospital, but was conscious when first responders arrived at the scene. She said they had been returning to the Buffalo area from Florida, Montijo said.
The van was packed with pillows, blankets and baby formula, he added.
Investigators are still trying to sort out how the 10 people in the van are connected. It appears there were at least two related families traveling together in the late-model minivan, Montijo said.
Also unclear is whether or not the infant was in a car seat.
“We’re not clear on that,” Montijo said. “There were more children than car seats.”
The others injured included a female adult traveling in the minivan, six children ages 2 to 13, and the driver of the dump truck, who fractured his wrist, Montijo said.
The accident, reported at 7:37 a.m., occurred approximately four miles east of Exit 58/Silver Creek. Eastbound lanes remain closed between Silver Creek and Exit 57A/Eden-Angola.
After the accident, UNYTS, which supplies blood for several area hospitals, issued a call for donors because of a need for blood for the surviving victims. Anyone interested in donating blood can call 512-7940 or stop by a UNYTS donation center.
email: jrey@buffnews.com
and mmiller@buffnews.com
