Three relatives, including a 4-year-old, were killed and six others injured in a car crash Sunday morning, due to a suspected drunk driver.
The New Jersey family was en route to Niagara Falls for the holiday weekend.
Four children were among the injured and one 4-year-old girl died, Wyoming County Sheriff Gregory Rudolph said according to The Daily News of Batavia. The injured children range in age from four to 14 years old.
The cause of the crash is believed to be a drunk driver, NBC New York reported. Investigators believe that a pickup truck ran a stop sign and hit the SUV in Sheldon, a small town about 30 miles away from Buffalo. (RELATED: Multiple People Dead In 28-Vehicle Crash, Truck Driver Charged)
“Anytime a child is involved – and in this case, we had five – it pulls at you,” he said to The Daily News of Batavia. “It’s a tragedy.”
There were nine family members inside the SUV, the sheriff said, according to the Associated Press. Two women were ejected from the SUV when the pickup truck hit and were killed at the scene of the crash. The 4-year-old girl died in the hospital with head injuries.
An adult man was taken to a hospital after the crash. He was treated and released. A woman was also taken to the hospital, as well as a 14-year-old and two other 4-year-olds, The Daily News of Batavia reported.
Richard Sawicki, 20, was arrested for aggravated vehicular homicide, driving while intoxicated and reckless driving. (Gregory L. Rudolph/Wyoming County Sheriff’s Office)
Richard Sawicki, the 20-year-old pickup driver, was arrested on charges of aggravated vehicular homicide, DWI and reckless driving.
None of the relatives’ identities or hometowns have been released as authorities work to notify their family, NBC NY reported.
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