Four Queens teenagers died in a horrific crash today, when their driver — who only had a learner’s permit — wiped out on a rain-slicked “Dead Man’s Curve” portion of the Southern State Parkway, officials said.
The one-vehicle accident happened at about 3:40 a.m. in westbound lanes near Exit 17 in town of Malverne.
Driver Joseph Beer, 17, “failed to negotiated a curve and lost control,” according to state police.
“The vehicle exited the roadway across the two right lanes on to the shoulder where it struck several trees,” state police said.
The black 2012 Subaru Imprezza was split in half and ejecting all five occupants, authorities said.
Two bodies landed 30 feet away on the parkway, one in brush near the car and the fourth victim ended up next to the destroyed Subaru.
Beer, also from Queens, was left wandering in a daze, using light from his cell phone to look for survivors, officials and witnesses said. He was taken to nearby Winthrop Hospital after police and fire officials arrived.
All four of Beer’s passengers were 18 and pronounced dead at the scene.
At 17 and with only a learner’s permit, it appears Beer would have been barred from driving without a licensed driver — 21 or over — in the car.
Debris strewn around accident scene included an iPad case, school textbooks, sneakers, cell phones and two backpacks.
Lakeview Fire Chief Heather Senti said the site is so frequently the scene of horrific accidents, first responders call it “Dead Man’s Curve.”
That area of roadway is a triple threat to motorists, who face an incline, a curve and a blind spot.
“This is a notorious area for car crashes,” Senti said. “If I had to guess from the wreckage, they were going quite fast.”
Amy Buchanan, a school principal who has lived near the crash scene for 10 years, said the crash’s impact — a huge “boom” noise — jarred her from sleep.
Buchanan added: “Then I heard the helicopters. And I knew there’d been another crash. There’s about one a year here, in that spot.”
As a school principal and a mother, Buchanan dreaded thinking about the phone calls authorities will have to make to love ones with the tragic news.
“All I know is, if I was a mom and I am, that’d be the most horrible telephone call ever. I can’t imagine how the family must feel,” she said.
“Once a year at least, but never as bad as this.”
An elderly neighbor called 911 and said this crash was one of the worst he’d ever seen.
“I’ve lived here my whole life. I’d say it is one of the top three crashes over the last 60 years,” said the neighbor. “I got up to go to the bathroom. I heard what I thought was a regular crash. And then I heard like a bomb go off when it hit the tree. The first crash must have been the car rolling.”
Additional reporting by Dan Mangan and David K. Li