Additional Coverage:
Two individuals lost their lives and seven were injured when a driver, believed to be under the influence, crashed into a park on the Lower East Side of New York City, according to police reports from Thursday evening.
Responding promptly to the incident, the Fire Department of New York encountered four people trapped beneath a gray Ford F-150 pickup truck just three minutes after arriving at the scene, as stated by officials.
Personnel from the FDNY worked in concert with the NYPD’s emergency services unit to free the trapped victims, authorities noted.
Police confirmed that two of the victims were declared dead at the scene. Of the others, two are in critical condition, three are seriously injured, and two sustained minor injuries, officials reported.
The injured include a mother and her two young children, police mentioned.
First responders detected the smell of alcohol at the crash site and are conducting tests to verify if the driver was indeed drunk at the time of the accident.
Bystanders managed to detain the suspect driver until police arrived, authorities indicated.
At this stage of the investigation, officials do not believe terrorism was involved, although they continue to delve into the specifics of the incident.