Four young people died yesterday when a speed freak crashed his rented Volkswagen into the base of a highway overpass in Westchester, leaving the vehicle a mass of twisted wreckage, police said.
Driver Bruno Vaccarezza, 19, a fast-car enthusiast from Cos Cob, Conn., who wrecked his Mini Cooper about three weeks ago, hit the abutment at 5:20 a.m. on the Sprain Brook Parkway, killing himself and his three passengers, cops said.
The impact left the vehicle and its occupants so mangled that rescuers had difficulty determining how many victims were in the car.
“It’s completely crushed,” police investigator Joe Becerra told The Journal News.
Officials eventually named the other three victims as Fernanda Gomez, 19, of Port Chester, NY, Juliana Restrepo, 18, also of Port Chester, and Vincent Mendoza, 20, of Norwalk, Conn.
Restrepo’s family learned of the accident at 9 a.m. They were shocked to find that Vaccarezza had just been in a previous accident.
“What is this kid doing behind the wheel?” her brother Fernando said about Vaccarezza.
“If he’s such a crazy driver, then why was he behind the wheel? It ain’t right.”
Vaccarezza’s hobby was fiddling with “import-tuner-style” cars and learning how to make them go faster, a neighbor said.
After he crashed his Mini Cooper in early August, his father leased a Volkswagen Golf from an Enterprise Rent-A-Car in Stamford, Conn.
No other vehicle was involved in the accident and there were no signs of drugs or alcohol.
But officials said speed was a factor.
“The vehicle was obviously traveling at a high rate of speed,” State Police Maj. Michael Kopy said.
A passing motorist was the first to call 911, after spotting the burning remains of the silver VW at the base of the overpass at Underhill Road in Greenburgh.
It had passed over a guard rail and went about 100 yards before it rammed a highway abutment, according to The Journal News.
State troopers and local firefighters raced to the scene and put out the blaze. Unfortunately, none of the passengers could be rescued.
The young driver shared pictures of souped-up cars and a YouTube video titled “Craziest Car Wreck EVER” on his Facebook page.
Vaccarezza was also a member of the Certified Whips Car Club Facebook group, where he was remembered last night.
“RIP kid ull never be forgotten,” a friend wrote. “Wish i coulda seen what the batmobile woulda turned out to be if u were still here bro.”
It was unclear where the four young people were driving from and where they were heading at the time of the crash.
Autopsies on the victims are scheduled for today.