Victim In Fatal I-684 Collision ID'd, State Police Still Investigating

TOWN OF SOUTHEAST, NY — Authorities have identified the victim in a violent crash in Putnam County.

New York State Police say that troopers from the Somers barracks, along with the Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI), are still investigating the fatal collision that took place on I-684 south, near mile marker 26.4, in the town of Southeast.

On Thursday, around 6:35 a.m., state police responded to reports of a two-vehicle crash involving a 1999 Honda Civic and a 2024 Ford F-150 pickup truck.

Troopers said the crash left the Honda Civic with "significant" front-end damage in the left lane. The back seat passenger, identified as 74-year-old Marcela Romero, of the Bronx, was pronounced dead at the scene.

An initial investigation found that the Honda, driven by 24-year-old Yaxkin G. Ramos Romero, of the Bronx, was traveling south with the driver's sister, 25-year-old Glenis O. Ramos Romero, in the front seat, and their grandmother in the back seat.

According to statements from the two sisters, the vehicle attempted to change lanes from the left lane to the center lane, when the driver noticed another vehicle in that space. In an attempt to avoid a collision, the driver steered abruptly back into the left lane, causing the Honda to strike the left guide rail and then strike the side of a Ford F-150 pickup truck.

The driver of the Ford F-150 pickup truck, 35-year-old Richard W. Valentine, of Larchmont, was not injured. He told troopers that the Honda veered into his lane and, after hitting the guide rail, struck his truck's driver's side back panel.

New York State Police say the investigation remains ongoing.