Overview
- The crash occurred late Tuesday night near Exit 1/65th Street on the eastbound Belt Parkway when a Cadillac Escalade carrying five teenagers and a Honda HR‑V collided.
- Three male passengers from the Escalade, ages 16, 17 and 18, were rushed to NYU Langone—Brooklyn in critical condition and later pronounced dead, while two other teens and the two women in the Honda were hospitalized in stable condition.
- Police say the Escalade braked suddenly, was rear-ended by the Honda, then struck the guardrail and flipped, ejecting three occupants who were not wearing seatbelts; the NYPD Collision Investigation Squad continues to probe the crash and has not announced charges.
- Family members and local residents identified the 18-year-old driver as Huzayfah Makharesh (also reported as Algaheim) and described community grief and fundraising for funeral expenses as relatives await the full police report.
- The Belt Parkway is a high-speed urban route where speeding and risky lane changes are common, and investigators will use scene reconstruction, vehicle and restraint analysis, witness interviews and toxicology to determine factors that led to the deadly crash.