Two people were killed and a toddler was critically wounded in a chain-reaction crash on the Wantagh State Parkway in Wantagh on Tuesday night, New York State police said.
Reina Olivera, 33, of West Babylon, was driving a Nissan Murano southbound between Hempstead Turnpike and the Southern State Parkway at 11 p.m. when she rear-ended a Honda CRV driven by 50-year-old Ana Ramirez of Lindenhurst, police said.
Nicolas Ramirez, a passenger in the Honda, and Olivera, who was holding a 3-year-old passenger, were standing in the left lane, exchanging information, when a Toyota Corolla that had slowed down as it came upon the scene was hit by a Honda Accord, police said.
The Accord then hit Olivera, the toddler and Ramirez, who was thrown into the northbound lanes, where he was struck a second time by a Jeep Wrangler, police said.
Ramirez was pronounced dead at the accident scene. Olivera died shortly later at Nassau University Medical Center, where the toddler is listed in critical condition.
Police are continuing the investigation but none of the drivers involved were charged.
