3 Teens Die In Staten Island Crash That Split Mustang In Half: NYPD

NEW YORK CITY — Three teens died in a devastating Staten Island crash that split their Ford Mustang in half and sent two of them flying through the air Sunday night, police said.

Police identified the victims as Fernanda Gil, 16, who sat in the front passenger seat, and rear passengers Jesie Gil and Ashley Rodriguez, both 15.

The Mustang's driver — a 16-year-old boy — was taken to a local hospital after the crash in critical, but stable condition, authorities said.

A preliminary investigation by NYPD officers found that the young motorist drove the Mustang at "unsafe speed" headed east along Hylan Boulevard, police said. The Mustang came into the path of a GMC Yukon driven by a 47-year-old man making a left turn onto Richard Avenue, authorities said.

The Mustang swerved from the left lane into the right lane before it was struck on the driver's side by the Yukon, police said.

The collision sent the Mustang careening passenger-side-first into a tree, which split the car in half and ejecting Jesie Gil and Ashley Rodriguez into the air, police said.

Momentum kept the car traveling up Hylan Boulevard, where it jumped onto a sidewalk and uprooted a small tree before it struck a telephone pole and finally stopped, authorities said.

Medics pronounced the car's backseat passengers deceased at the scene, while doctors declared Fernanda Gil dead at Staten Island University Hospital North, police said.

The Yukon's driver along with his four passengers — a 44-year-old woman, a 23-year-old man, a 19-year-old woman and an 11-year-old girl — all suffered minor injuries and were taken to the hospital for treatment.

Police arrested the Yukon's driver when they said he drove on a suspended license. Charges are pending against him, authorities said.

A crash investigation by the NYPD is ongoing, police said.