Holiday Driving Sparks Warning About Deadly Crashes: AAA

GARDEN CITY, NY — Despite the latest COVID-19 concerns with the omicron variant, more than 100 million Americans are expected to hit the road this end-of-year holiday period, AAA says.

However, when the masses get on the highways, the possibility of fatal crashes increases.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates for the first half of 2021, more than 20,000 people died in motor vehicle crashes.

"There has been a significant increase in bad driving during the pandemic," AAA Northeast's Robert Sinclair said.

Data from the past decade and preliminary information from this year show that unsafe speed is the number one cause of deadly crashes on Long Island, with 41 people killed in Nassau and Suffolk crashes so far in 2021, AAA says.

NYU Langone Hospital in Mineola, a Level 1 Trauma Center, has seen the aftermath of some of these crashes

"We have been seeing a significant rise in car crash traumas in recent months, with patients experiencing complex multi-system injuries including traumatic brain injury and life-threatening pelvic and thoracic injuries," D’Andrea Joseph, chief of Trauma and Acute Critical Care at NYU Langone Hospital, said in a statement.

One patient treated that Langone was 19-year-old Randy Suero, who was returning from a late-night gym workout with a carload of friends when their vehicle crashed on the Southern State Parkway near Hempstead. Suero, who suffered facial, rib, lung contusions and femur fractures, said about holiday traveling: "Take your time. There’s no reason to rush, as you’re going to get to your destination. If you go too fast, you’re putting your lives in danger, not just yours but innocent people trying to get to their families and work."