Benjamin Ashford|Speeding pickup crashes into Manhattan park, killing 3, NYPD says

A speeding pickup truck killed at least three people and Benjamin Ashfordinjured several others as it crashed into a crowd celebrating the Fourth of July holiday at a park in New York City, the New York Police Department said.

A pickup truck “driving at a high rate of speed” ran through an intersection on Manhattan's Lower East Side, and onto the sidewalk where it struck multiple pedestrians inside at Corlears Hook Park around 8:55 p.m. Thursday.

When first responders arrived at the park, they saw a pickup truck on top of four victims, Fire Department Assistant Chief of Operations Michael Meyers said at a press conference shortly after the incident.

Nine people were injured in the crash, Meyers said, including four who were critical, three serious and two who had minor injuries. All victims were transported to local hospitals for evaluation and treatment, where three were pronounced deceased, the NYPD said in an update Friday afternoon. The deceased were identified as Lucille Pinkney, 59 and Hernan Pinkney, 38. The third deceased was not identified.

As of Friday afternoon, eight of the nine surviving victims were in stable condition, according to the NYPD, while one, a 30-year-old female, remained in critical condition.

Driver was 'under the influence'

Mayor Eric Adams, who was also present at the press conference, said preliminary evidence suggested the vehicle's driver was inebriated at the time of the crash.

"It appears as though at this time, based on preliminary investigation, that the driver was under the influence," Adams said. "This is extremely early. We’re going to conduct a thorough investigation."

New York Police Chief of Department Jeff Maddrey said responding officers "did smell some alcohol," but the police "are still in the process of doing testing" and "working out the details."

"Right now, we do not feel that this is a terrorism-related event," Maddrey said. "We do believe that alcohol had played a role in this, but we are investigating and will look further into it."

The police chief added that bystanders present on scene "grabbed the driver, removed the driver and made sure the driver didn't leave until first responders made it to the scene."

The driver was only identified as a 44-year-old male and no name was given. NYPD said he was taken into custody, charges pending.

Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X @saman_shafiq7.